The end of the 1,500-metre snowswept runway on which I'm standing vanishes into milkbottle white, with the only contrast coming from evergreens standing guard down its entire length.
Not that long ago, massive eight-engine B-52s roared down this runway, day and night, 365 days a year. But, today, the only sound that cracks the cold is the insistent roar of a Detroit V-8. Anew engine in fact -this 6.2-litre makes 411 horsepower and 434 foot-pounds of torque and is the new standard power plant in the 2011 version of Ford's Raptor.
Having debuted just last year as a purpose-built offroad race truck, the Raptor has sold nearly 10,000 units in its first year of production - not too shabby for a limited-build SVT program. However, this year, rather than sweating in the deserts of southern California in August, I'm standing on this concrete relic of the Cold War in the most northern corner of Michigan .
Both locales present unique climate challenges, yet the snowandiceareanicechange for a Canadian boy who's regularly subjected to heat he's not used to.we've already seen three classic Air max classic models in their flagship colorways release. Still, that's where the Raptor cut its teeth just last year; it then raced Baja and won. It then headed way south -just recently, two trucks took part in the 14-day, 8,000-kilometre Dakar race through Argentina and Chile. I was the rethis year and was thrilled to see Detroit metal battling it out with the best that European and Asian engineers could field. Of the two trucks,one broke just before the finish, while the other (piloted by Sue Mead, an American racing journalist) finished 40th.Find a fashionable range of women boots and ladies shoes all in one place online.
Considering that almost half of the hand-built race vehicles never finish, that's not bad for two mostly-stock pickup trucks.
So what makes the Raptor so unique? Isn't it just another decal package?
Hardly.
First off, the Ford SVT engineers partnered with an outfit called Fox Shox, which builds one of the premier off-road multi-stage shock absorbers around.
Secondly, this tight group of Ford engineers is responsible for a host of specially built trucks going back to 1991, best known for building the Lightning pickups, which were tire-smoking ground pounders (offered first in 1993 and 1999). I first drove one in 2003 at Mosport International Raceway called the Sonic. Anyone familiar with the fourkilometre Grand Prix-style track knows of its challenging turns; not the place for a straight-line runner.
But that Lightning I drove cornered aggressively and handled off-camber turns at sports car speeds - a direct result of SVT attention to suspension, as well as good choices for rims and rubber.
And suspension is what the Raptor is all about. Consider that the truck, though based on the F-150, is 178 millimetres wider than a stock truck primarily to support the specially built underside components. These include custom cast control arms, struts, shocks, springs, prop shafts, trac bars and underarmour. That's what made up the first Raptor (available only as a SuperCab).
These past efforts and modification knowledge by the SVT guys (plus the imagination) built this first-ever factory-designed desert racer. But unlike real hand-built racers, this creation -even with its high-performance off-road capability - is still street legal and decent to drive on pavement.
That was the real surprise with the first Raptor - it did not punish you on-road for its off-road ability.
In the Sault, I had a chance to run at speeds of up to 100 kilometres an hour on decommissioned logging roads -that's anice way of saying unmaintained, rutted, washed-out crap. The truck floats over this stuff. The suspension is beating like a rabbit's heart as I powerslide through icy curves, but I'm sitting still fixing my level stare on the road, feeling the surface through the steering wheel, not the cab.
Perhaps that's why this truck drives smaller than it is - in part because of the wellcalibrated steering and excellent weight transfer. Throw it as hard as you want into turns and it does not lean,Love womens Wedge Shoes? So do we. doesn't lift a wheel and certainly never feels out of control. The tires bite,I'm a small investor in a startup company deploying a podiatrist-patented method for adding comfort to high-fashion, high-heel shoes for women.the brakes clamp like iron and the fourwheel-drive system offers not only 2Hi, 4Hi and 4Lo but an electronic rear locker as well. Also, roll stability control is incorporatedintothetraction control system, which can be left full on (nanny mode), partially turned off (called Sport - or as I say Fun -mode) and totally off (known as sphincter-scrunching mode).
After wiping out 50 metres of snowbank, I recommend Sport.
The Raptor is back for 2011. And, after much feedback from customers it is now also available as a fourdoor SuperCrew truck. Now, among the performance fraternity, this might cause some anxiety; however, this added 300-plus mm of wheelbase adds only 136 kilograms of overall weight and, frankly, most of that comes from the new 136-litre gas tank. The addition of the SuperCrew does something else, though - it puts this truck into the sights of the off-road work community.
Tens of thousands of people make their living offroad - on both sides of the border. However, their need for ability is just as important as space -they are rarely alone and the three-person back seat in the Raptor, with that great flat floor, is perfect forgetting the crew in and out of just about anywhere. In a nutshell, that's why I have my woollies on while driving the shore of Lake Superior in this new, longer (3,683-mm wheelbase) Raptor.
The new 6.2L V-8 engine (replacing the 5.4L) also adds towing capability for 2011. With the tow package (which includes an integrated trailer brake controller), the Raptor will tow 3,629 kg. The payload is 468 kg.
Also standard now is a 4.2-inch LCD productivity screen (as found on the SuperDuty) and SelectShift Automatic transmission. This system lets the driver lock out as many gears as required -this is in addition to the manual and trailer tow modes.
Part of the Raptor's aggressive footing comes from the unique SVT-tuned 35-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain TA/ KO 315/70-17 tires.With these tires,the Raptor has 284 mm of front suspension travel and 307 mm of rear suspension travel on either SuperCab orthe new SuperCrew. Either version comes with a 5.5-foot box.Air max 2009 Running Shoe Flex grooves in the mid and outsole for flexibility.
Also available this year is a Raptor Luxury Package, which will feature folding power exterior mirrors, remote start, integrated spotter mirror, express up/down driver and passenger front windows, 110-volt outlet in the centre console, head restraints for the second-row middle seat and a telescoping steering wheel.
The new SuperCrew Raptor will be available for a set price (with a long list of standard equipment, different from what is available in the United States) for $53,119. Orders are being taken now - trucks will roar into town late this fall.
Not that long ago, massive eight-engine B-52s roared down this runway, day and night, 365 days a year. But, today, the only sound that cracks the cold is the insistent roar of a Detroit V-8. Anew engine in fact -this 6.2-litre makes 411 horsepower and 434 foot-pounds of torque and is the new standard power plant in the 2011 version of Ford's Raptor.
Having debuted just last year as a purpose-built offroad race truck, the Raptor has sold nearly 10,000 units in its first year of production - not too shabby for a limited-build SVT program. However, this year, rather than sweating in the deserts of southern California in August, I'm standing on this concrete relic of the Cold War in the most northern corner of Michigan .
Both locales present unique climate challenges, yet the snowandiceareanicechange for a Canadian boy who's regularly subjected to heat he's not used to.we've already seen three classic Air max classic models in their flagship colorways release. Still, that's where the Raptor cut its teeth just last year; it then raced Baja and won. It then headed way south -just recently, two trucks took part in the 14-day, 8,000-kilometre Dakar race through Argentina and Chile. I was the rethis year and was thrilled to see Detroit metal battling it out with the best that European and Asian engineers could field. Of the two trucks,one broke just before the finish, while the other (piloted by Sue Mead, an American racing journalist) finished 40th.Find a fashionable range of women boots and ladies shoes all in one place online.
Considering that almost half of the hand-built race vehicles never finish, that's not bad for two mostly-stock pickup trucks.
So what makes the Raptor so unique? Isn't it just another decal package?
Hardly.
First off, the Ford SVT engineers partnered with an outfit called Fox Shox, which builds one of the premier off-road multi-stage shock absorbers around.
Secondly, this tight group of Ford engineers is responsible for a host of specially built trucks going back to 1991, best known for building the Lightning pickups, which were tire-smoking ground pounders (offered first in 1993 and 1999). I first drove one in 2003 at Mosport International Raceway called the Sonic. Anyone familiar with the fourkilometre Grand Prix-style track knows of its challenging turns; not the place for a straight-line runner.
But that Lightning I drove cornered aggressively and handled off-camber turns at sports car speeds - a direct result of SVT attention to suspension, as well as good choices for rims and rubber.
And suspension is what the Raptor is all about. Consider that the truck, though based on the F-150, is 178 millimetres wider than a stock truck primarily to support the specially built underside components. These include custom cast control arms, struts, shocks, springs, prop shafts, trac bars and underarmour. That's what made up the first Raptor (available only as a SuperCab).
These past efforts and modification knowledge by the SVT guys (plus the imagination) built this first-ever factory-designed desert racer. But unlike real hand-built racers, this creation -even with its high-performance off-road capability - is still street legal and decent to drive on pavement.
That was the real surprise with the first Raptor - it did not punish you on-road for its off-road ability.
In the Sault, I had a chance to run at speeds of up to 100 kilometres an hour on decommissioned logging roads -that's anice way of saying unmaintained, rutted, washed-out crap. The truck floats over this stuff. The suspension is beating like a rabbit's heart as I powerslide through icy curves, but I'm sitting still fixing my level stare on the road, feeling the surface through the steering wheel, not the cab.
Perhaps that's why this truck drives smaller than it is - in part because of the wellcalibrated steering and excellent weight transfer. Throw it as hard as you want into turns and it does not lean,Love womens Wedge Shoes? So do we. doesn't lift a wheel and certainly never feels out of control. The tires bite,I'm a small investor in a startup company deploying a podiatrist-patented method for adding comfort to high-fashion, high-heel shoes for women.the brakes clamp like iron and the fourwheel-drive system offers not only 2Hi, 4Hi and 4Lo but an electronic rear locker as well. Also, roll stability control is incorporatedintothetraction control system, which can be left full on (nanny mode), partially turned off (called Sport - or as I say Fun -mode) and totally off (known as sphincter-scrunching mode).
After wiping out 50 metres of snowbank, I recommend Sport.
The Raptor is back for 2011. And, after much feedback from customers it is now also available as a fourdoor SuperCrew truck. Now, among the performance fraternity, this might cause some anxiety; however, this added 300-plus mm of wheelbase adds only 136 kilograms of overall weight and, frankly, most of that comes from the new 136-litre gas tank. The addition of the SuperCrew does something else, though - it puts this truck into the sights of the off-road work community.
Tens of thousands of people make their living offroad - on both sides of the border. However, their need for ability is just as important as space -they are rarely alone and the three-person back seat in the Raptor, with that great flat floor, is perfect forgetting the crew in and out of just about anywhere. In a nutshell, that's why I have my woollies on while driving the shore of Lake Superior in this new, longer (3,683-mm wheelbase) Raptor.
The new 6.2L V-8 engine (replacing the 5.4L) also adds towing capability for 2011. With the tow package (which includes an integrated trailer brake controller), the Raptor will tow 3,629 kg. The payload is 468 kg.
Also standard now is a 4.2-inch LCD productivity screen (as found on the SuperDuty) and SelectShift Automatic transmission. This system lets the driver lock out as many gears as required -this is in addition to the manual and trailer tow modes.
Part of the Raptor's aggressive footing comes from the unique SVT-tuned 35-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain TA/ KO 315/70-17 tires.With these tires,the Raptor has 284 mm of front suspension travel and 307 mm of rear suspension travel on either SuperCab orthe new SuperCrew. Either version comes with a 5.5-foot box.Air max 2009 Running Shoe Flex grooves in the mid and outsole for flexibility.
Also available this year is a Raptor Luxury Package, which will feature folding power exterior mirrors, remote start, integrated spotter mirror, express up/down driver and passenger front windows, 110-volt outlet in the centre console, head restraints for the second-row middle seat and a telescoping steering wheel.
The new SuperCrew Raptor will be available for a set price (with a long list of standard equipment, different from what is available in the United States) for $53,119. Orders are being taken now - trucks will roar into town late this fall.
