Ford has stunned crowds at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of speed with the Raptor T1+, a purpose-built race truck conceived to win next year’s Dakar Rally with the help of four-time winner Carlos Sainz Sr. A joint project between Ford, Red Bull and UK-based rally experts and longtime Ford collaborators M-Sport, the Raptor T1+ doesn’t share much with the Raptor you can buy in US showrooms beyond the name. It’s built around a bespoke steel spaceframe chassis, features double wishbone suspension at both ends and handles bumps via heavy-duty multi-adjustable Fox shocks with remote reservoirs.
The 8.5 x 17 inch aluminium rims wear
37-inch tires and enjoy a massive 350 mm of wheel travel, while
400 mm of ground clearance and a 70-degree approach angle means
there’s not much in the way of terrain this truck can’t cross. Stopping is
handled by 355 mm Alcon discs and six-piston monoblock calipers.
One feature it does have in common with
some production Fords is its 5.0-liter Coyote V8, though the Raptor’s is
equipped with a dry sump lubrication system and a “tuned exhaust” suitable for
Dakar competition. Ford hasn’t revealed what kind of power the motor generates,
but as fitted to the Mustang Dark Horse the Coyote puts out 500 hp and 567 Nm.
The Raptor T1+ makes its race debut at
Baja Hungary next month, before hopping across to North Africa for the Rallye
du Maroc in October. Those events will serve as shakedowns for the Raptor’s
real goal, victory in the 2025 Dakar Rally in January. Ford’s four teams of
drivers will include rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr., who has won Dakar four
times already, most recently in 2024 driving Audi’s electric RS Q e-tron E2.
