Pre-Production Prototype Alludes to Late Delivery of 2017 Raptor

By Arison Knapp - July 11, 2016

Over the weekend a pre-production prototype 2nd-generation F-150 Raptor was spotted driving in Colorado leading to speculation of later delivery dates. One of the crewman at TFLT who spied the camouflage-free 2017 F-Series near their office caught up with the next-gen Raptor in a bit of a cat-and-mouse to capture the details. This video reminds me of an episode of COPS where police officers narrate their activity like Bob Costas as they hunt crime. Entertaining and informational.

At about a minute they close in on the Raptor bogey brandishing special small badging on the rear windshield leading the lad behind the camera to yell out, “2017.5 TT!!??”. Could this mean Ford is preparing for a later release? TFLT tends to think so although nothing has surfaced to support it. More puzzling all dates scheduled for production and delivery remain unchanged online and no releases from the factory say otherwise. I imagine plans are set for the Raptor’s assembly and this is a final pre-production model. Traditionally a small batch of vehicles are built by hand for training under the supervision of design engineers. For last real world testing at the hands of executives, dealers and press for critiques. Betting that’s what this is; testing.

As you may know Ford’s R&D is running at light speed these days with gains to almost every part of their top-selling vehicles. An unconventional 10-speed automatic transmission is claimed to be the wildest edition to the powertrain sending upwards of 450 horses to all four-wheels from a race-proven 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine. Placed in an all-newly revised steel-foundation and aluminum skin, attacking the road with a world-class electronic grip managment system has not just enthusiasts but the general public saying, “Wow, Ford is a world power again!” Let’s hope you won’t have to wait any longer for your new toy. If we’re updated with activity about delivery dates we’ll let you know.