The 450hp Ford F-150 Raptor is not usually easily available outside of North America, but UK buyers looking for the ultimate in pickup performance will be pleased to learn that luxury car dealer Clive Sutton has begun importing them to these shores.
An initial shipment of five delivery mileage examples has just arrived, and although three are already spoken for the remaining pair are on sale – if that’s the right phrase – from £78,000 apiece.
Click here to read about new pickups coming soon on Parkers Vans
Whoa – that’s a lot of money for a pickup…
It is. But to be fair, that is a VAT-inclusive price covering all import costs and the current US dealer markups, and you are getting one of the most effective pickup trucks ever put into production.
Under the bonnet and behind that ultra-aggressive styling lies a 3.5-litre Ecoboost turbo petrol V6 that’s vaguely related to the one in the latest Ford GT supercar. In Raptor duty it produces not only 450hp but 691Nm of torque – which is more or less enough pulling power to move the planet.
This is hooked up to a 10-speed automatic gearbox (basically to prevent the fuel economy from immediately bankrupting the western world). With the F-150 as its starting point, the Raptor is not a small vehicle – it dwarfs the Ford Ranger – but military-grade aluminium construction helps keep weight down.
The whole thing is suspended by specially developed Fox Racing Shox suspension. Which, as the video we’ve run previously shows, is designed to enable you to make the most of all that performance on a wide variety of terrains.
Is the Raptor right-hand drive?
Not from the factory. But if you’re prepared to fork out an extra £36,000 (including VAT), the Sutton Bespoke specialist programme will happily convert it for you.
Similarly, if you’re off your meds and thinking that 450hp doesn’t sound like enough, Sutton Bespoke can also offer a supercharger package for the Raptor that takes the engine up to around 600hp. This costs a mere £10,800 (again, including VAT).
Which Raptors are available in the UK?
Clive Sutton has a SuperCab (pictured) and SuperCrew Raptor in stock – the former being an extended cab model, the latter a double cab.
If neither of those take your fancy there’s a sourcing service so you can get a Raptor to your exact spec. Various other bespoke and upgrade packages are also available.
See the Clive Sutton website for more details.
Read a Ford Ranger M-Sport review on Parkers Vans – the closest you can get to a UK-spec Raptor
