Judging by the number of Ford Ranger’s on our roads sporting aftermarket kits – a direct tribute to the Ford F150 Raptor – it’s safe to say that many local bakkie owners are unsatisfied with the ‘look and feel’ of the stock, South African, Ford Ranger.
Ford themselves seem to have acknowledged this local need, no doubt eyeing the popularity of the burgeoning aftermarket segment with the soon-to-be-introduced Ranger Raptor. Yes, it looks the part, but will the 157kW/500Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel be enough? Considering its stablemates in Ford’s Ranger line-up already employ 3.2-litre 5-cylinder diesel power. The Ranger Raptor sure does beg for V8, or at least V6 power, but as Ford says, “It’s not about the engine.” Sure Ford, sure…
Can wait for a Ranger Raptor? Don’t fret, Ford will already sell you a Ranger Roush. Yep, a Ford-approved Roush Performance-tuned Ranger doublecab with a 3 year / 60,000km in three states of tune. The RS1 at R135,000, RS2 for R185,000 and RS3 for R245,000 on top of their respective base prices. The first stage is predominantly an aesthetic upgrade while RS2 and RS3 see power hikes of 170kW and 550Nm, and 190kW and 650Nm respectively on a 3.2litre turbo diesel.
Both of these fade into obscurity in comparison to what you see here. It is the Hennessey VelociRaptor 6X6, and it might be the most bad-ass, apocalypse ready truck since the Mercedes-AMG G63 6x6, which it no doubt took inspiration from. It’s also half the price! Hennessey – the name practically translates to ‘BONKERS’ – have taken an already outlandish super-truck and turned the dial up. WAY up!
For $350,000 (approx. R4,327,015) Hennessey includes a ‘base’ 2017 – 2018 Raptor 4-door truck, and then throws 6X6 locking rear axles, upgraded Fox suspension, upgraded 20-inch wheels and off-road tires, special front and rear bumpers, rollbar and LED lights. That’s a massive tick in the ‘visuals’ department, what about under the bonnet you ask? The 600+ HP (447kW) upgrade includes upgraded twin turbochargers, stainless steel exhaust modifications, upgraded front mounted air to air intercooler plus plumbing and a re-tuned factory computer to manage all the resulting Hoonery.
At over 7 metres in length the Hennessey VelociRaptor 6X6 has to accommodate a full third axel and so a custom load bed is crafted out of steel and carbon fibre, making the load bed alone nearly 2.5 metres long. Of course the extra axel also benefits from Fox racing shocks. Interestingly the centre axle is always locked, with the rear axle lock activated form inside the cab. Weighing in over 3 tonnes those engine upgrades are very necessary, and effective with internal testing by Hennessey resulting in a 0 – 100kph time of 4.8 seconds. That’s scarcely believable! Power is sent to all sex wheels via the standard 10-speed automatic gearbox which John Hennessey himself claims can handle the loads. Other optional extras, which I’m pretty certain you will want to tick are upgraded front and rear Brembo brakes and larger wheels and tires.
“Our VelociRaptor 6X6 is pure aggression on wheels – all six of them”, says Jon Hennessey.
“The new 2018 Raptor is going to be one of the best all-around trucks ever built. We are excited to help take it to the next level both in terms of performance and exclusivity”.
Eat your heart out South African bakkie owners with a penchant for the F150. We doubt your third-party aftermarket kit will be able to come anywhere close to this. In fact, we are 100% sure it can’t.
