F-250 Super Duty

Make
Ford
Segment
Sports Car

The Ford Raptor family looks like it may be growing in more ways than one with a potential Super Duty Raptor a possibility at some point in the future, especially if customers ask for it. That's the word from Aaron Bresky, Super Duty engineering manager.

If it happens, the Raptor would take over from the Tremor as the most off-road-capable version of the Super Duty pickup. Such a truck would no doubt be exceedingly talented, as evidenced by both the F-150 Raptor R and Bronco Raptor being finalists in CarBuzz's 2022 awards for the Off-Road Warrior category. So, why hasn't the Super Duty Raptor happened yet?

Based on Bresky's comments, we can deduce that the demand for a Super Duty Raptor simply hasn't been there, especially for a heavy-duty vehicle that was primarily made to tow and haul. "There's nothing limiting this as far as I'm concerned, and we're always listening to our customers," said Bresky to Ford Authority when asked about a potential Super Duty Raptor. "If customers are saying, 'we like the Tremor, but where is the Super Duty Raptor?', we listen to our customers."

Combining the immense towing and hauling capabilities of the Super Duty with the off-roading strengths of the F-150 Raptor would likely prove quite an engineering challenge. The Super Duty's sheer size and weight could count against it in certain scenarios where the F-150 excels.

The F-150 Raptor already weighs up to 5,886 pounds, yet it's been designed to lunge across large sand dunes and land without its underpinnings crumbling to pieces. By comparison, the 2022 Super Duty Crew Cab with 4x4 - the logical configuration for a possible Super Duty Raptor - starts at close to 6,500 lbs. That's heavy, and it'd place substantial stress on the various suspension components if treated with the abuse that Raptors have been designed to take.

We figure that most Super Duty customers will be happy with the Tremor Off-Road Package. It's not as extreme as a Raptor would be, so you don't lose the Super Duty's incredible towing and hauling abilities.

The Tremor's added equipment like skid plates, a rear electronic locking differential, special front springs, and a Rock Crawl mode makes it an excellent off-roader. All that being said, a Super Duty Raptor would be quite something, but Ford would probably want to use the F-150 Raptor R's V8 to compensate for the extra weight.

While the demand for a Ranger Raptor has been there for years, and Ford finally gave Americans what they'd been asking for, we're not sure that a Super Duty Raptor would be as popular. Nobody knows what the future holds, though, and Ford is clearly open to the idea. If you want one, let Dearborn know.