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You may remember last month that we reported on the all-new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor entering this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 event. The same pre-production 2017 F-150 Raptor was driven by four-time Baja 1000 winner Greg Foutz, who entered the 49th annual SCORE Baja 1000–an off-road endurance race that takes place in Baja California, peninsula in Mexico.
Foutz and the pre-production ’17 F-150 Raptor finished the Baja 1000 in 35 hours, 59 minutes and 8 seconds–placing third overall in the stock full class competition. Foutz then proceeded to push the all-new F-150 Raptor even further–tossing all of the team’s tools, spare tires and more in the back of the truck; all to drive it back to their home shop outside of Phoenix nearly 400 miles away. Not bad for a pre-production truck if you ask us.
The all-new 2017 F-150 Raptor utilizes a 3.5-liter twin turbocharged EcoBoost V6 engine, but don't let the 'eco' in the name fool you. This purpose-built off-road truck pumps out an impressive 450 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque, backed by Ford's all-new 10-speed automatic transmission.
“That’s why the new Ford F-150 Raptor is bad-ass!,” Foutz said in Ford Performance’s press release. “It’s a race-proven off-road monster that can race off-road an entire weekend, then take you and your friends on a road trip the next day. That and the $49,520 starting price make it a clear winner on the showroom floor.”
Incredibly, the only modifications that Foutz and his team made to the pre-production ’17 F-150 Raptor were the addition of a chromalloy steel safety cage, puncture-resistant fuel cell, racing seats and a full race harness–all necessary to meet SCORE rules. Additionally, the factory Raptor springs and Fox Racing shocks were adjusted to accommodate the added weight from the safety cage and fuel cell, according to Ford.
Foutz and his team are truly a testament to the capabilities of the all-new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor–exposing this production truck to more than enough terrain types from Phoenix to Mexico and back.
“We used the Raptor Terrain Management System to select Baja Mode and just tweaked two-wheel versus four-wheel drive depending on the terrain we were on,” Foutz said. “When we hit the road for home, we dropped it in the Sport Mode and took off for the highway.”
Crossing more than 850 miles in the Baja 1000, the F-150 Raptor Foutz and his team utilized share the exactly same performance enhancements and technology as the model that will be available next year.
The pre-production 2017 F-150 Raptor covered more than 2,000 miles concluding the trip from Phoenix to the Baja 1000 and back–covering multiple terrains and living up to the "Built Ford Tough" anthem that the Blue Oval is renowned for.
“We’re completely thrilled at how well the all-new F-150 Raptor performed throughout the Baja 1,000 race,” Jamal Hameedi, Ford Performance chief engineer said. “It’s one of the most brutal environments you can ever compete in. Having race-proven, real-world performance experience and data to validate – further solidifies Ford’s truck leadership position and Raptor as the ultimate from-the-factory high-performance off-road truck.”
