Ever since Ford reinvented the Raptor, there was a lot of booing and hissing in regard to the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. The horsepower and torque are fine and everything, but on the other hand, everyone agrees that the 6.2-liter Boss V8 sounds a lot better.
There was talk the 7X V8 would be offered on the F-150 Raptor for the 2019 model year, but Ford didn’t shoehorn the eight-cylinder into the engine bay for one reason or another. Even the Coyote V8 would’ve been good, but no, the Blue Oval wouldn’t make our wish come true.
This is where the Hennessey VelociRaptor V8 steps into the scene, packing the Coyote and 2.9 liters worth of supercharging. This combination cranks the suck-squeeze-bang-blow to the tune of 758 horsepower, translating to 4.1 seconds to 60 miles per hour.
Unveiled at the 2018 SEMA Show, the VelociRaptor V8 is in a league of its own as far as off-road pickup trucks are concerned. “Our customers have been begging for a V8 option for their new Raptors since the truck first came out in early 2017. We heard their calls and are so pleased to meet this need in the market,” said John Hennessey.
Priced at $147,950 including the donor vehicle, the full-size workhorse comes with Stage 2 off-road suspension (six-inch lift kit), LED front lights, front and rear VelociRaptor bumpers, and Hennessey 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 37-inch BF Goodrich KM03 off-road tires. Special badging, embroidered headrests, and serialized plaques are also included.
As with every build from Hennessey, the VelociRaptor V8 comes with a three-year/36,000-mile warranty. If you were wondering, production is limited to 100 examples of the breed for the 2019 model year.
Turning our focus back on the engine, the VelociRaptor V8 also benefits from upgrades to the fuel injectors and air intake. A stainless steel cat-back exhaust system is featured as well, along with an air-to-water intercooler to keep that Whipple as cool as possible. For this application, the blower is setup up to run at 7 PSI of boost.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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