His first-generation Ford F-150 Raptor may be an oldie, but it’s definitely a goodie, too.
When a truck as mighty and capable as the Ford F-150 Raptor exists, how do you top it and make it even more of a head-turner? You could do like one tuner did and add two more wheels to it. Mercedes-Benz did that with its G-Wagen, and certainly got a ton of attention (and sales) for it.
Or you could do as Ken Block’s Hoonigan Racing pals did, and rip out the Raptor’s wheels and tires, and replace them with snow tracks. In the above video, Block says he wanted a vehicle he could use to take him and his buddies to snowboarding spots in backcountry areas. To him, the resulting creation known as the Raptor TRAX is faster than a Sno-Cat and less expensive than a helicopter.
Ford equipped the Raptor it sent Block and his crew with a roll cage. Then the Hoonigans got to work on making the truck into the Raptor TRAX. They kept the 6.2-liter V8 and bolted on a supercharger, which helps the engine crank out roughly 650 horsepower. For nighttime horseplay in the snow, they outfitted Raptor TRAX with heavy duty auxiliary lighting. Up top, there’s a storage rack for carrying all sorts of tools, including shovels, axes, and even a chainsaw, just in case a tree halts the bespoke beast’s forward movement.
There’s little chance of that happening thanks to the 350-pound tread assemblies at each corner. They’re designed to help it travel over tarmac, mud, gravel, and – as you can see – snow. Those and the skid plates down low allow the mighty truck to float over pristine slopes.
Inside, Recaro buckets with four-point harnesses keep Block and his buddies from doing some floating of their own. When it’s time to zoom down mountains on their snowboards, all they have to do is take them off of the handy racks on the sides of their powder-pounding rig. Two more seats in the bed of the truck are there for those who want to feel the wintry winds of the north and hear the sounds of nature without keeping their balance. If another vehicle gets stuck behind them, they can use the rear winch right below them.
How could Block and his team top this with the current version of the Raptor? We don’t know, but we’re sure it would be something weird… that we would very much want.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
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