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The Ford F-150 is due for a midcycle update, and it is getting one promptly. Ford CEO Jim Farley said it will be officially unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in September–yet completely uncamouflaged examples have been spotted in Michigan for a week now.
In two Instagram posts by Theraptorconnection, completely uncovered examples of the updated Ford F-150 Raptor have been driven around Michigan and even taken to a bike race in an apparently deliberate leak. In all fairness, the changes to the truck are subtle and would only be recognized by hardcore enthusiasts, yet it is rare that an automaker would allow prototypes to gallivant uncamo’d without a very good reason.
At least one of the spotted trucks is a Ford-owned vehicle sporting a Michigan manufacturer’s plate. The second truck parked at the bike race did not have a front plate on display, though it is highly likely that the truck is also a Ford prototype rather than a new truck that slipped through the cracks. It’s also worth noting that these are not the best-selling bread-and-butter F-150s that most folks will buy, and those haven’t leaked yet.
We can gather a few details about the exterior of the updated F-150 ahead of its September unveiling in Detroit. It’s fairly typical: an updated front fascia that includes a slightly changed front bumper and hood, and a new headlight design that splits the DRL and adds convexity to the area around the daytime running lights. The tail lights are updated and slimmed, while the Raptor graphics have also been given a refresh.
It’s subtle but does the job of making the updated truck feel newer. Of course, there isn’t any word on mechanical updates but the Raptor R will continue into the facelift F-150. No need to fix what isn’t broken.
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