The car will join the Ford Performance racing team to participate in the 2025 Dakar Rally and other heavy rally competitions called Ford Raptor T1+, using a steel chassis with space frame structure, with Fox’s high-performance shock absorbers. , 37-inch tires and body made from carbon fiber.
At the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024, Ford brought a pleasant surprise through the presence of the Raptor T1+ racing car, designed to participate in the toughest rally competitions. This is the result of a collaborative project between Ford, Red Bull and M-Sport, a group of rally motorsport experts with many years of experience, based in the UK and a long-time partner of Ford.
Although called “Raptor”, this Raptor T1+ actually does not have much connection with high-performance versions of Ford civilian cars. The only thing in common is the 5.0L Coyote V8 engine block, but it has been equipped with a dry sump lubrication system and a “specially adjusted exhaust mechanism” to suit the performance. rally fight.
That’s why the engine equipped with the Raptor T1+, although the company has not disclosed detailed technical specifications, will certainly be more powerful than the 507 horsepower and maximum torque of 567 Nm of the Raptor T1+. The type is currently installed on the Mustang Dark Horse muscle sports car.
Raptor T1+ is developed based on a steel chassis with advanced space frame structure, double wishbone suspension system at both front and rear, using Fox’s shock absorber mechanism with external air tank (or also known as “oil tank”), has a heavy load capacity and is easily customizable.
4 wheels use 37-inch all-terrain tires attached to 8.5 x 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels, providing a ground clearance of up to 400 mm (of which 350 mm is due to wheel size) and a 70-degree angle, enough to handle face every challenge. The braking system includes 355 mm Alcon discs and 6-piston monobloc brake calipers.
The Ford Performance racing team will launch the Raptor T1+ at the Baja Hungary tournament in August 2024, then go to North Africa to attend the Rallye du Maroc in October. These will be “warm-up” races to prepare for the race. The real goal is the 2025 Dakar Rally taking place next January. Among the four Ford Performance drivers will be the legendary Carlos Sainz Sr., who has won the Dakar many times, most recently in the recent 2024 race on the Audi RS Q e-tron.
Mr. Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance, shared about the importance of the Raptor T1+ project as follows: “Participating in a tough race like Dakar is a difficult task for all of us at Ford. Performance, but we have never shied away from a challenge. To best prepare, we have coordinated with leading partners in the field of rally motorsport in the world such as M-Sport and Red Bull, which shows that we are taking this project as seriously as possible. how.”
“The Ford Raptor T1+ is the foundation of our global off-road vision – we want to achieve the best and prove ourselves in the toughest places on earth. The lessons we learned from the Raptor T1+, along with competing against a host of other formidable models at the Baja 1000 and Finke Desert Race, will help make Raptor products even better for customers. ours.”
Mr. Matthew Wilson, Director of M-Sport and Dakar team manager, also said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity – to be involved in supporting Ford Performance when they come to Dakar with this new Ford Raptor T1+ will is a very interesting adventure. We’ve completed over 10,000km of testing in some of the toughest conditions we could find so we feel ready to compete fairly in official races, starting with Baja Hungary in the next month.”
