Autoblog

How the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor became a reality

Michael Harley — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:57:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Truck, Videos, Ford, Off-Road

The camouflaged Ford F-150 SVT Raptor prototype captured above blazing its way across the desert during a test run left company engineers giggling in amazement, reveals Jamal Hameedi in a new Autoweek video. Ford's global performance vehicle chief engineer, accompanied by senior exterior designer Bruce Williams, sat down with the publication to discuss the concept and development of the automaker's super off-road F-150.

Designing a high-performance pickup in 2008, right when the cost of gasoline was going through the roof, seemed insane at the time, but the team pushed forward with the innovative vehicle regardless. The interview includes plenty of Ford B-roll footage as visual candy, and the conversations include discussions about exterior design, ride comfort, anti-lock brake tuning, suspension engineering, weight reduction and why it was necessary to make the Raptor visually different than Ford's standard F-150. The model's origin story is very interesting, and you can learn more about it by watching the video below.

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How the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor became a reality originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 May 2013 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jay Leno gets nostalgic driving Shelby GT500 and Boss 302

Zach Bowman — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Videos, Ford, Celebrities

It looks like we weren't the only ones to get our hands on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500. Jamal Hameedi, SVT chief nameplate engineer, recently stopped by the Big Dog Garage to show off both the Mustang Boss 302 and the GT500. It's no secret that Leno has always been a Mustang fan, and with the ridiculously powerful supercharged 5.8-liter pumping out more grunt than the comedian's own Ford GT, the 2013 Shelby has earned itself another proponent. Leno takes the big horse out for a ride around town, including over some of the more punishing stretches of Los Angeles freeway before heading home.

Of course, it wouldn't be an episode of Jay Leno's Garage without a proper burnout, and the clip doesn't disappoint. Looks like fun to us. Now the only question is whether Leno will add one of these machines to his own personal collection. Scroll down below to watch the video, which concludes with a little tribute to the recently deceased Carroll Shelby.

Continue reading Jay Leno gets nostalgic driving Shelby GT500 and Boss 302

Jay Leno gets nostalgic driving Shelby GT500 and Boss 302 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 May 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Chris Paukert — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:54:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Truck, Ford, First Drives, Off-Road

Exhilaration At 1 MPH

When thinking about the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, one tends to picture an orange meteor barreling across the desert at absurd velocities, flying through the air, long-travel suspension dangling its dirty bits below. That's partially because desert storming and bombing down muddy, root-strewn fire roads was the Special Vehicle Team's design brief, and partially because those environs have dominated Ford's advertising efforts. Marketing shtick aside, there's little doubt that the Raptor has that Kool-Aid Man "Oooh, Yeah!" wall-crashing thing going on better than any other vehicle on sale today.

In fact, if you tend to picture the Raptor exclusively in terms of yumps and dry creekbeds, you're not alone. Ford and SVT kind of admit they did, too. But in building this street-legal trophy truck, they've come to realize that they unwittingly created a vehicle that's far more versatile than originally envisioned. Case in point: Back in 2009, a massive snowstorm crippled the ability of Ford staffers and media members trying to reach the Chicago Auto Show. In particular, Mark Fields and other key execs had to journey from Dearborn to the Windy City, and company pilots refused to take off in the horrible weather. Fields and some other executives settled on boarding the train, arriving haggard eight hours later and barely making their press conference. SVT boss Jamal Hameedi and his crew elected to travel by Raptor. Driving their trucks through inches of thick slush and ice in the fast lane at more-or-less normal highway speeds (while what little traffic was sharing the road crawled along with hazard lights aglow) was a revelation. Despite building the thing, Team SVT simply didn't expect something with wide, knobby tires and a higher center of gravity to cut through the frigid slurry like that.

It's exactly this sort of discovery process that led us to the foot of the smoothly picturesque red rocks seen here. We had arrived in a convoy of eight 2012 Raptors, having taken the easy hour's drive from Grand Junction, Colorado to Moab, Utah to tackle Hell's Revenge, a well-known 4x4 trail over this otherworldly terrain that doesn't take kindly to larger vehicles like our full-size SuperCab pickups. Solid bets for tackling Hell's Revenge include Jeep CJs and Wranglers, Toyota FJ Cruiser 4x4s and so on - vehicles with exceptional approach, departure and breakover angles. Even with its raised suspension and ground clearance of 11.2 inches front and 12.1 rear, we couldn't help but feel a bit sheepish about the Raptor's chances.

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2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SVT boss goes on record about Ford Raptor frame damage claims [w/video]

Chris Paukert — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Wagon, Safety, Ford, Off-Road

Over the last several weeks, there have been a number of reports on web forums of frame damage incidents involving the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Thanks to a number of reader tips, Autoblog was the first news outlet to inquire with Ford about the matter. After launching its own investigation into the claims centering around one particular organized Raptor Run in Nevada with 14 participating vehicles and 10 bent frames, Jamal Hameedi, a 20-year Ford veteran and SVT's Chief Nameplate Engineer, agreed to talk exclusively with Autoblog.

AB: When did you first become aware of these Raptor frame claims?

Hameedi: We monitor all the blogs - I think there are three or four different versions of Raptor online forums. We saw that there was one particular run where several Raptors bent their frames on the same obstacle.

AB: How many Raptors have been reported with frame damage?

Hameedi: We have four nationwide since the beginning of production.

AB: It sounded like there were more than four vehicles damaged in this individual run alone - are these not included in that total?

Hameedi: I think we've been reading that there are ten trucks in question [in that run].

"We have a pretty firm understanding of what's going on."

Jamal Hameedi, SVT Chief Nameplate Engineer

AB: So the four trucks you mentioned - those are just the ones that have been directly reported to Ford dealers?

Hameedi: Yes.

AB: Have they all been bent in more-or-less in the same way?

Hameedi: The ones on the run, I think there are varying degrees of how [badly] they are tweaked, but generally we have a pretty firm understanding of what's going on.

Continue reading SVT boss goes on record about Ford Raptor frame damage claims [w/video]

SVT boss goes on record about Ford Raptor frame damage claims [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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