Yet another internal combustion versus electric propulsion straight-line showdown, the most powerful internal combustion-engined Ford F-150 takes on the most powerful Hummer in production today. Pictured at Santa Margarita Ranch, the off-road trucks in the video below are owned by Mike and Clarissa. The Hummer is completely stock, whereas the Raptor has only two mods to speak of.
First and foremost, Mike replaced the standard 37s with a set of desert racing tires from BFGoodrich. Said rubber is mounted on Innov8 Racing 17- by 9-inch forged monoblock wheels. Of course, beadlocks are featured as well. A relatively new pickup, the Raptor had 400 miles (644 kilometers) on the clock at the time the folks at Hoonigan filmed this video.
As per the owner's manual for the ICE 2023 model year Ford F-150, the Dearborn-based automaker is recommending easy driving in the vehicle's first 1,000 miles (approximately 1,600 kilometers). More specifically, no driving at high speeds, no heavy braking, no aggressive shifts, and no towing at all.
Gifted with the 5.2-liter supercharged V8 of the S550-generation Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, the Raptor R is best described as the Raptor 37 with a better-sounding engine. Oh, and more power as well! Lovingly codenamed Predator, the 5.2 makes 700 horsepower and 640 pound-feet (868 Nm) of twist.
Torquier than the 3.5-liter EcoBoost sixer of the Raptor 37 and regular version, the Predator doesn't hold a candle to the maximum output of that Hummer. The 2022 model year Edition 1 owned by Clarissa makes 1,000 ponies and ridiculous torque in the so-called Watts to Freedom setting, a driving mode that enables peak torque for a brief moment.
Photo: Hoonigan on YouTube
How much, though? GMC says 11,500 pound-feet or 15,592 Nm for those who prefer metric, which is both correct and misleading. The misleading part concerns how the biggest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit measures torque. In short, the overly massive peak torque number corresponds to wheel torque.
Chief engineer Al Oppenheiser, the guy who headed the sixth-gen Camaro's engineering team, pegs individual motor peak torque between 380 and 400 pound-feet. With three motors to its name, this zero-emission pickup truck develops 1,180 pound-feet (1,600 Nm). The truth is that it doesn't make that kind of torque at launch because the Hummer's electronic brain limits peak torque to stave off wheel spin.
As far as the Hummer is concerned, the other elephant in the room is curb weight. 9,640 pounds (4,373 kilograms) versus 5,960 pounds (2,703 kilograms) is huge, although the GMC's extra poundage is no problem whatsoever in a drag race over 1,000 feet (nearly 305 meters). The biggest issue, however, comes in the form of the speed governor, which limits the heavy electric pickup to 106 mph (171 kph).
The Raptor R and Raptor 37 are both good for 114 mph (183 kph), whereas the Raptor with the standard 35s can accelerate to 120 mph (193 kph). That being said, enjoy watching internal combustion getting clobbered into submission by electric propulsion yet again. The Raptor R may sound incredible, but in a drag race over this distance, the Hummer's near-instant torque delivery makes a world of difference.
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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