It’s been less than a week since Ford lifted the sandy curtain off its latest dune master – the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor. During this time, we have found out quite a lot of things about the new high-performance truck flagship for North America. Still, none of them could make up for the fact that we’re missing the horsepower and torque ratings.
The Blue Oval was keen on giving us a wide array of interesting information about its third-generation Raptor these past few days. As such, it’s been eager to emphasize tidbits such as that all-new five-link rear suspension with next-gen Fox shocks (and Live Valve tech) or the fact it’s the first truck in its class available with 37-inch tires.
On our own, we think that since Ford is keeping the EcoBoost V6 (and has reserved the rumored V8 for the upcoming 2022 Raptor R), it also really needed to step up the audio game with the introduction of the active-valve dual exhaust setup.
But that doesn’t mean we’re going to forgive them for not coming out with two of the most important figures – the exact horsepower and torque levels. Well, it’s time for the rumor mill to fill in the blanks. Just recently, Ford Authority came up with a reasonable explanation for the omission, with a company spokesperson claiming that “numbers will be shared later when they are certified.”
No comment on that, since it’s not like the process can’t be started way in advance of the actual reveal. Even more importantly, the rumor mill also provides a sane extrapolation that might give us the hotly anticipated numbers. Do take them with a grain of salt, though – since there’s no official hint to base them on.
Instead, Ford Authority speculated on the model year difference between the 2020 F-150 and its fourteenth-generation successor 2021 F-150 when equipped with the ubiquitous 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Based on finding that hp and torque increased by around 6.7% and 6.4%, respectively, the 2021 Raptor could arrive with 480 hp and 542 lb-ft (735 Nm) of torque when compared to the 2020MY’s rating of 450 hp and 510 lb-ft (691 Nm).
Only time will tell if the same math was used by the Ford engineers when coming up with the figures for the new iteration. We secretly hope it’s wrong, and they’re actually going to be throwing a little bit more. For example, 500 horsepower would be a nice, round number.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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