In these new photos, the truck appears to be a newer vehicle than the black prototypes we’ve seen previously. This latest Ford SVT Raptor is red and sporting a new front skid plate, and finally what we understand to be the production grille that eschews the Blue Oval for big bold “F O R D” spelled out. This is the same unique grille that Jim Farley teased the dealers with a few months back (you can just barely make out the letters under the camo).
Despite rumors of the BOSS engine program’s demise, we have learned it will live on in more-limited applications such as the Super Duty and we believe it is still on course to be the chosen engine for the Raptor, presumably in the 6.2L displacement, backed by Ford’s excellent new 6-speed automatic with a super low 4.17 first gear. We expect gear ratios with the big power and geared-down tranny to be 4.10s, which should still provide good fuel economy. The crawl ratio could be better than 40:1.
Suspension, as we mentioned before, features Fox 2.0 piggyback reservoir shocks and will offer 4-inches more travel over stock, bringing the Raptor to a full 12-inches of front wheel travel and even more in the rear. A selectable front locker will also be part of the package to compliment the selectable rear locker that comes as part of the ’09 F-150 FX4 package. Ride height will be similar to the FX4 F-150 for crash standards, however, big tires and big wheel travel are accomplished through wider suspension and bulged fenders, much like a chase or trophy truck, giving the Raptor a menacing stance, good ground clearance and a low center of gravity for exceptional handling.
Wheels and tires also appear to be the production intent 35-inch BFGs (with even a fullsize spare squeezed under the truck between the frame rails) on SVT-styled wheels we saw in the previous pictures, it is an SVT project after all.