As Ford Authority reported this past January, Ford CEO Jim Farley recently revealed that the company is considering using the Raptor nameplate on an off-road-focused supercar, which could wind up being its own standalone model. Such a concept isn’t terribly new, as both Porsche and Lamborghini have offered up something similar, albeit based on existing models. Now, Farley is teasing some more details about what this future model might look like.
“No one’s ever built a supercar for gravel, high-speed sand, dirt,” Farley told Bloomberg. “I’m thinking really deeply about it and usually that turns into something.” The executive admitted that he’s asked his engineers to create a concept for “a 1000-horsepower, partially electric, totally digitally enabled” vehicle. “That would be a great direction for our company,” he said. “These Raptor people are telling us something. They’re not stupid. They’re really smart people. They spent $120,000 on an 800-horsepower pickup truck.”
“I want to win Dakar way more than Formula One,” Farley added. “I want us to build a vehicle so that all people could experience what it’s like to have the joy of driving no matter what is in front of you.” The exec hinted that such a machine would serve as a follow-up to the Ford Mustang GTD, topping the automaker’s lineup of high-performance four-wheel drive models as something of an off-road halo vehicle. Like the GTD, it would be built in limited quantities and tout a price tag north of $300k.
Farley has long made it clear that he envies the Porsche way of doing things, and also recently stated that he intends for Ford to become the “Porsche of off-road” vehicles, too. As for what sort of Ford Raptor model he’s referring to, the possibilities are clearly endless, but as Ford Authority reported last August, Blue Oval dealers were actually shown a Baja-style Ford Mustang concept with beefy tires during a separate event. The Ford Raptor T1+ – which debuted at this year’s Dakar Rally – was also purpose built essentially around the 5.0L V8 Coyote engine, potentially providing another clue as to what we might see come to fruition.
Interest-free financing and more on midsize luxury crossover.
An easier way to hook up a trailer.
Good enough to make China its fourth-largest market.
A super clean example of the seldomly-seen van.
The hatchback is still a tremendous value in today's world.
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We know one thing it won’t be a BEV
Just what he shouldn't be focusing on. But so typical.
Ford went nuts naming (diluting) everything “Shelby”, I fully expect they’ll do the same with “Mustang”.