Why The Ford Bronco Raptor Is Stupid Fast On Any Terrain
In case the Bronco wasn’t enough of an off roading monster, the Raptor model is sure to knock your socks off.
In the car world, there tends to be a sense of reality. Normalcy as one may call it, the production vehicles are enough for production, and the concepts stay… well, just that – concepts. Lately that notion has been challenged, first with the Dodge Hellcat, and now with the Ford Bronco Raptor. It’s everything you’d ever want in an off-road demon, just better. And if that isn’t the American way, we’re not really sure what is.
The Bronco Raptor is a metaphor for everything great with the American automotive industry. Ford’s current operations creates electric vehicles at a pace that outmatches any other automaker on one side, while the other still stuffs twin turbo V6s into SUVs and calling them good to go. The Bronco Raptor is one that everyone could see coming in the back of their heads and with the launch of the ultra-off road oriented Ford F-150 Raptor R, it’s become even more desirable as these vehicles aren’t going to stick around for long. While people may have seen the Bronco Raptor coming, they won’t see it go. Mostly because it’s ridiculously fast.
The Bronco Raptor’s Engine Is A Sight To Behold
It’s easy enough when you’re a beloved icon, the Bronco has been a part of American culture for ages. From OJ’s white Bronco glossing across our screens rolling down I-5 to the Bronco being an everyday staple of US life from its inception, the SUV has never struggled for popularity. However, it’s even easier when you amp up the octane factor on a superstar and kick the notch to ten, which is what Ford did with the new Raptor.
Featuring a twin-turbo V6, the Raptor receives 418 horses from its EcoBoost powerplant. Mated to a 10-speed automatic, it doesn’t need the dunes in order to make itself feel at home. Firing itself to 60 mph in a slight 5.6 seconds hoisting a 5,764 lb curb weight, it’s clear that the engine makes this a quick monster to whip around. The 3.0-liters of displacement also play a role, by sucking that much air into the Raptor’s dual turbos, it allows the SUV to breath better, cool itself faster, and stuff its engine with as much air as possible, making the Raptor a speedy demon in every essence of the word. Roaring through the sand dunes, its exhaust note isn’t something to mess around with either, at full revs it screams at over 110 dB, a sound level that is nearly illegal in some jurisdictions in the U.S., driving home the point of how special this off-road demon truly is.
All The Goodies The Bronco Comes With…
While the engine might be impressive, it wasn’t the V8 that the Ford fan base yearned for. To make up for it, the friendly folks in Dearborn packed the Raptor with all sorts of off-road tricks in order to make the Bronco as fast as possible on the dirt track. We’ll be the first to admit, this isn’t a drag strip monster, it was never meant to be. Instead of taking cues from the Mustang, Ford already had experience in this space with the Ford F-150 Raptor and the newly debuted Raptor R. This meant the company was able to fit the Bronco with an even more buff suspension setup than the standard version to best handle powering over dirt or being jumped through the air, and it has a much wider wheel track that’s set up for better high-speed stability.
An upgraded transfer case means the SUV can handle more abuse than it normally would, letting you take hard corners or even bigger bumps without the worry of the case breaking or leading to expensive repairs. FOX shocks also mean you won’t have to stress about bottoming out or shooting the suspension, an ease of mind for even the most hardcore dirt tracker.
The Bronco Raptors Massive 37-Inch Tires Make It Invincible Off-Road
It may sound counterintuitive, but bigger tires here make for a faster vehicle. With beefier rubbers on the bottom, one doesn’t have to worry about large obstacles nearly as much as they would with a standard Bronco. Instead, they could just treat it like light turbulence en route to a dirt rally win. Bigger tires also equates out to higher ground clearance, meaning this SUV now has 13.1 inches of ground clearance. A huge upgrade to an already great vehicle.
The tire size you ask? 37-inch meatballs on the underbelly of the Bronco, a huge upgrade over the seemingly pedestrian regular Bronco, which could be optioned with a multitude of different wheel and tire combinations. The tires are beadlocked onto a pair of 17 inch wheels, meaning the Bronco can be faster than never before.
Article Credits: Yuva Chandana
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