Hey there. Devin Altieri here for Drive Wire on November 1st, 2016.
Today on Drive Wire: Ford is entering a nearly stock F-150 Raptor in the Baja 1000.
While Ford has tweaked the springs and shocks on the car, there are only four major additions to the stock Raptor: a chromalloy steel safety cage, a race-spec fuel cell, racing seats with full harnesses and LED race lighting.
The stock raptor boasts Ford’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, churning out 450 horsepower and 510 lb.-ft of torque. That power zips to all four wheels through the new 10-speed automatic transmission co-developed by Ford and GM.
When the 2017 Raptor heads south of the border for the November 16th to November 20th race, it will be aiming to beat the time set in 2008 by the previous generation truck of 25 hours and 28 minutes. Veteran Baja racer Greg Foutz will be behind the wheel of the behemoth when it hits the 631-mile Mexican course. Foutz comes with experience in spades in the form of four previous Baja 1000 wins. He’s also well acquainted with the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor, having already raced it in multiple off-road races this year.
That’s it for Drive Wire on November 1st, 2016. I’m Devin Altieri; thanks for watching, and please check out The Drive for more on the big stories from the transportation world.