Car Of The Day: October 24, 2010

Today's car of the day is Matchbox's 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor.

[quote=Wikipedia]The Raptor is a modified extended cab F-150 truck intended for high speed off road use typically found in the deserts of the southwest United States as well as Baja Mexico. Inspired by the prerunners used by high-dollar off road teams, it brings a variety of off road features. Developed by the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) at Ford, the Raptor was used as a test bed for further engineering validation for the new 6.2L V8. The truck itself ran in 2008 Baja 1000 where it finished 3rd in class. With 5300 confirmed orders, first year Raptor sales have exceeded 1999's Lightning production numbers.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Here we see Ford's toughest off-road truck in its native environment: the suburban parking lot.  Sadly, many Raptors will never stretch their legs off-road on trails or run the Baja 1000, but will have to be content with merely jumping a curb periodically during parallel parking at soccer practice.

From the A-pillar forward, the Raptor has different sheetmetal from other F-150s and is bereft of the blue oval badge in the grille. SVT widened the track by 7 in., and so its 5.5-ft box is unique to the Raptor as well. The Raptor's height is 2 in. over a standard Supercrew. It also features new, internal bypass shocks, designed by Fox Racing. These shocks are allegedly designed for a smooth ride on-road that stiffens up when the driver reaches high speeds off-road, in essence what external bypass shocks do, without the inherint packaging problems.

The Raptor has new leaf springs and shocks, new front upper- and lower-A-arms, and a wider, thicker-walled rear axle. It's the first Ford with hill-descent control and comes with a differential locker that lets the driver keep it locked at high speeds.

Towing capacity is reported to be up to 6000 lb with a 1000-lb payload. Interior changes include high-bolster seats, a special steering wheel, and redesigned center console. Ford originally promised a "value price" and a multiyear run--final pricing came in at $42,000.00 for 2010.