Ford Debuts The 2021 F-150 Raptor With An Upgraded Suspension System And New Tech Features

What’s New On The Outside?

The 2020 F-150 Raptor is offered in SuperCab and SuperCrew body styles with a 5.5-foot bed. This time, however, it will be offered only in the SuperCrew avatar. This is something we’ve known for a long time now, so no surprises there. It will feature a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy and composite body. It is based on the 2021 F-150 but with a few Raptor-specific changes.

It continues to have a tougher, more muscular look than the standard F-150. The hood comes with a power dome and breathes better thanks to the functional side air vents. The grille is blacked out and headlights are wider. The skid plate is also wider than before, thus offering better protection. At the rear, the taillights are blacked out.

The truck will come with three different 17-inch wheel options and two different tire sizes – 35- and 37-inch rubber, both of them being BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2s. These are the ratings when the Raptor is equipped with the 35-inch tires:

And, these are the ratings when equipped with the 37-inch tires:

What’s Different On The Inside?

The 2020 F-150 Raptor used to be offered with fabric seats as standard and leather seats can be had as optional. This time, you can also have Recaro bucket seats. The new Raptor will have more premium touches. There are carbon fiber packages available, too. A new 12-inch touchscreen system replaces the eight-inch touchscreen from the present model. It will run on the SYNC4 infotainment system and will support over-the-air updates. Even the eight-inch instrument cluster is swapped with a 12-inch digital display behind the new steering wheel. A 360-degree camera will be offered, too, as an optional accessory.

The Same Engine, But New Suspension System

In the previous iteration, the Ford F-150 Raptor came with a 3.5-liter, twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost mill that made 450 horses and 510 pound-feet of torque. Power was sent to all the wheels via a 10-speed SelectShift automatic transmission. The company has retained the same engine and transmission for the 2021 model year Raptor, but the power outputs are not yet announced.

We are speculating an increase of around 30 horses and 30 pound-feet of torque over the previous model.

The new Raptor will feature a new five-link rear suspension developed specifically for it. The suspension system features longer trailing arms, a Panhard rod, and 24-inch coil springs. FOX Live Valve internal bypass shocks with adjustable position-sensitive damping will also be available. An electronic locking rear differential comes as standard whereas a Torsen front limited-slip differential with 4:10 final drive ratios can be had for extra moolah.

Ford will also offer a new three-inch exhaust system with active valves. It will come with four sound level modes - Quiet, Normal, Sport, and Baja. The Terrain Management System is a lot more elaborate now with more options to play with. Trail One-Pedal Drive is also offered on the new Raptor. We saw this on the Bronco as well, wherein the feature lets you accelerate and brake using a single pedal for speeds of under 20 mph.

The towing and payload capacities are rated at 8,200- and 1,400 pounds, respectively, which is an increase of 200 pounds. Apart from this, the Blue Oval is offering a ProPower On Board generator with two kW of exportable output, too.

How Much Does The New F-150 Raptor Cost?

Ford has not announced the price of the 2021 F-150 Raptor yet. The 2020 F-150 Raptor came with a starting sticker price of $53,455 for the SuperCab version. The SuperCrew version commanded a premium of around $3,000. Keeping that in mind, the price for the 2021 F-150 Raptor should be around $59,000.

Final Thoughts

Ford subtly mentioned in its premiere video that there’s “more to come in 2022”. It’s for the Raptor R, but there’s no other information beyond that. Ford did not mention when the new Raptor will arrive at the dealerships, but given that it refers to it as the “2021 F-150 Raptor”, we hope to see it in the coming months.