Like an off-road Lamborghini. Yum.
American high-performance automotive specialists Shelby have revealed their new go-anywhere performance ute for 2018. Dubbed the ‘Baja Raptor,’ it essentially takes a Ford F-150 Raptor (an already formidable beast) and then turns the wick up to unimaginable proportions, befitting of anything bearing the Shelby ‘Cobra’ badge.
With just 500 planned to be made next year (though more Raptors could simply be converted), the Baja Raptor could make for an interesting addition to a car aficionado’s collection. If not for its rarity, perhaps for its performance: While it uses the same 3.5-litre V6 EcoBoost powerplant as the regular Raptor, the magicians at Shelby have tinkered with the unit extensively, and added things like a cold-air intake, high-flow air filter, a retuned ECU and an aluminium intercooler to massage no less than 391kW and 826Nm(!) out of it.
But all that extra grunt wouldn’t be of much use if the Baja Raptor didn’t stand out from the crowd. To ensure maximum visibility, the Shelby ute gets more aggressive bumpers on either end, a healthy number of LED lights dotted around the place (including a spotlight mounted on the bull-bar up front that promises as much illumination as a collapsed sun), automatically-retractable running boards on either side, and two mounts for two spare tyres at the rear.
Not enough? Don’t worry. There’s also a ram-air scoop on the front, a “chase rack” at the rear, and 18-inch alloy wheels shot in 35-inch high-performance all-terrain tyres. Still not enough? Fine, there’s also a three-inch lift kit. The cabin doesn’t see quite the same degree of revisions, limited to custom leather seats, custom floor mats, lashings of carbon fibre, and badges on the centre console and the dashboard to ensure you never forget you’re in something special (but seriously, how could you).
Priced at a heady US$117,460 (or about $146,660 at today’s rate), the Baja Raptor is certainly not for the faint-hearted or the light-wallet-ed. Should you have already emptied your bank account on a regular Ford F-150 Raptor, there’s good news for you: You can convert your car into one of these monsters for a very reasonable US$49,295 (or about $62,000 and some change). Considering the limited number and the performance on offer, might this be the car you’ll choose to bring in once the new motorcar laws come into effect?
Stay tuned to CarShowroom as we bring you more information as it comes.
