No V8 return just yet: Updated Ford F-150 Raptor sticking to twin-blown V6 for now

The previously rumoured two engine strategy for the facelift Ford F-150 Raptor will reportedly be limited to a single for now based on new leaked details.

Back in 2019, is was reported that the Raptor will swap the current twin-turbocharged 336kW/692Nm 3.5 EcoBoost V6 for possibly the supercharged 5.2 Voodoo V8 from the Shelby GT500 in order to counter Ram’s 523kW/880Nm 6.2 supercharged V8 1500 TRX.

While likely to be detuned from 567 kW to between 540 kW and 559 kW based on previous claims, the f150gen14 online forum has leaked a series of screengrabs confirming the 3.5 bent-six as the only option together with a choice of eight colours. No further details were divulged, although it is likely that the Raptor will retain the off-road hardware and various driving modes of the current model when bows sporting the same visual and interior updates as the standard F-150 introduced last year.

In spite of the lack of clarity surrounding the V8, reports are it could potentially be unveiled in the Raptor’s lifecycle, thus resulting in the first bent-eight option since the original based on the twelfth generation F-150, which offered a choice of two normally aspirated units; a 5.4 that made 231kW/495Nm and an optional 306kW/588Nm 6.2 that become the sole option after 2010 until production wrapped-up four years later.

Already spied undergoing testing, motor1.com has received confirmed from the Blue Oval that the updated Raptor will make its unveiling on 3 February but as before, and like the standard F-150 itself, it will only be made in left-hand-drive.

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