The new Ford F-150 Raptor is here, and version 3.0 is louder and fiercer

[MUSIC] Over a decade ago, Ford shocked the industry with its high flying ground pounding F150. Raptor. The truck world hasn't been the same since. Amazingly, despite single handedly creating a segment and being a runaway success since 2010. No other automaker has put forth a truly serious challenger up until this year. [MUSIC] Now, you didn't really expect for to take the Ram teawrex lying down, did you? This is the 2021 Ford F 150 Raptor. And it is proof that the blue oval isn't about to let any old T rex take its lunch money. [SOUND] [SOUND] You soak in these broad shoulders and that all business stance I'm referring to the truck. Let's see what's changed. And what. Has it. Like other 2021 F-150s, despite a relatively similar appearance to last year's truck, this new raptor is based on a new 14th generation architecture, and it reads a whole bunch of fresh features and capabilities, as a result. It's got an even tougher suspension, plus it's available at 37 inch tyres. 37! Those are the largest wheels, ever fitted into a light-duty factory pickup. Did I mention that the Raptor's got some trick new off-roading features borrowed from the Bronco and a built in generator? More on those in a minute. Now it's never really felt like the outgoing Raptor was ever short of power. But the one thing I could never get my arms around, was this engine sound. It just wasn't burly enough. Ford claims it solved that problem. And hey, a nice new VA would really fix things up, right? Yeah, about that. Despite lots of rumors, that's not what Ford's done here. This rig is still powered by 3.5 liter twin turbo EcoBoost v six. The updated engine features revised turbos. A taller compression ratio, and an augmented cooling system with new high powered fans 40s and seeing how much power the new engine makes, but there are a number of differences between this engine and the one you'll find in the outgoing truck. That models engine developed 450 horsepower, and 510 pound feet of torque. So I wouldn't be surprised if this new trucks numbers jump up a little bit. Yeah, I can already hear the internet trolls from here. The T rex has 702 horsepower and 650. I get it. But here's the thing. The Raptor has got two more gears in its transmission. Plus it's expected to weigh around 600 pounds less than the RAM. Yes, it's probably going to still be a chunk, Florida 60 but it's going to be really quick And when you're out jumping things in the desert, it isn't always might makes right. It's light makes right. less weight also enables more payload and towing capacity as well as more miles between fill ups. Ford says payload capacity is up by 200 pounds to 1400. And towing is up the same to 8200. Both of those fingers are actually slightly better than the rim. What a coincidence. Finally, that lighter weight aids efficiency which works out to a 500 mile range between credit card swipes at the pump. That's clutch because I don't know about you but every time I get into one of these big guys, I always wanna drive it to the ends of the earth and they don't exactly have a lot of gas stations out there. Okay, so back to the question of sound. The old engine soundtrack, has always struck me as muffled, and a little bit droney. It's never sounded anywhere near as good as the OG raptors VA, but this truck, it just might. [SOUND] It's got a new three inch exhaust, that includes a built in cross pipe, featuring active valving, and what ford is calling a patented trombone loop. The upshot is that there's a full on bypass and the driver can cycle through four different exhaust modes. Quiet normal sport and Baja. Hopefully those last two will sound as fierce as this thing looks. Okay, let's get into the rest of the nitty gritty or rather what keeps you from eating the nitty gritty. That is the suspension. This Raptor features an all new five link rear with ultra long trailing arms and 24 inch coil springs. There's a new set of Fox live valve shocks, and it's 3.1 inches around, they're even bigger than before. with electronic control, these shocks can alter their damping rates at 500 times a second. Not only should these units be able to cope with bigger initial impacts, they'll be able to dissipate heat better and stand up to more prolonged abuse. Combine that suspension with these taller 37 inch BF Goodrich TKO twos and you are looking at 13.1 inches of ground clearance, 33.1 degree approach angle 24.9 departure and a breakover of 24.4 degrees. Every single one of those is better than the T Rex. Heck, even if you stick with the standard 35 inch tires, they're still all better. Plus, there's a new wider skid plate upfront if you somehow managed to get it all wrong. Now I mentioned that the Raptor is inheriting some new features from the bronco. The one I'm most interested in is a one pedal drive mode for easier low speed rock crawling. Plus Ford is already hinting the trail turn assist, which locks the inside rear wheel in tight corners to act as the pivot point, could be coming soon via over their update and trail maps could find its way into the navigation system too. Speaking of OTA updates, that is part of the Raptors new sink for infotainment architecture, which allows for bumper to bumper updates, meaning you can wirelessly download bug fixes or new features. It's all part of the retooling of the thing that the Raptor and really needed the most, a new interior. The Raptor builds on the excellent new cabin of the F150, meaning much nicer materials and a more modern design that's more competitive with what ram has been doing for a while now. There's a new 12 inch reconfigurable gauge cluster and a matching 12 inch centre screen that can run Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wirelessly. Like before grippy Recaro seats are optional, and you can also get neat features like the disappearing shifter with fold down work surface. Okay, so what's left? Well, you can also get forward super handy new pro power onboard tech, which has a built in generator that lets you power auxiliary lighting tools, a portable fridge or whatever you want. This version is only two kilowatts, but that should still be enough for a great camping or tailgate setup. Alright, so we still don't know how much power this new Raptor makes, what its fuel economy is or where it's going to be priced. Me I'm guessing it's going to be priced pretty similar to today's model, which would mean that it'll be a heck of a lot cheaper than the TRS which is over 15 grand more than today's Raptor Now, one last thing for you. If you really, really gotta have a VA, there is a production Raptor in your future. And it allegedly has a supercharged version of the predator v eight. That's good for over 700 horsepower called the Raptor r it isn't coming until next year, and when it shows up, I'm told it won't even be street legal. Roads where the Raptor is going. You can't use roads. [BLANK_AUDIO]