There is a rumor traveling around Facebook insisting that the 2017 Ford Raptor F-150 and the 2017 Ford GT supercar will both have the same 600+ horsepower engine. They will both have 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engines, but they will have two very different V6 engines and even though Ford hasn’t announced official figures for either of these two high performance vehicles – it is foolish to expect that the Raptor and the GT will have the same engine or the same output.
The 2017 Ford Raptor F-150 will have a specially prepared version of the current 3.5L EcoBoost V6 already in use in the 2016 F-150 pickups. In the “normal” F-150, this mill offers 365 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. We don’t have any official estimates on the Raptor EcoBoost output, but Ford exec Raj Nair stated last year that it would have 450 horsepower – and he is someone who would have a good idea of what is going on behind closed doors at the Ford HQ.
The 2017 Ford GT supercar will also have a 3.5L EcoBoost V6, but the engine in the GT was designed after the 3.5L EcoBoost endurance car engine which competed in the American LeMans Series last year (now called the Tudor United SportsCar Championship). Ford engineers took the race engine and essentially reworked it for road use, with the result being around 600 horsepower.
Just because the Ford GT will have a 3.5L EcoBoost V6 and the new Ford Raptor F-150 will also have a 3.5L EcoBoost V6 does not indicate that the Raptor will have the same 600 hp output of the supercar. Raj Nair’s comments might not be the exact figure, but those comments verify that the actual output will be closer to 450 than 600 horsepower.
Until Ford offers anything to confirm that the Raptor might have 600 hp, people need to stop spreading that rumor.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
