As half-ton trucks built for off-roading go, the Raptor did a nice job of racing up the legendary British course.
This week’s “Truckin’ Fast Wednesday” video comes to us from the Ford Europe YouTube channel and it features a current generation F-150 Raptor participating in the 2016 Goodwood Hill Climb. While this event is designed for the world’s greatest road-racing machines to do what they do best, and the Raptor is engineered to best do what it does in the dirt, this big F-150 really gets around the curvy course nicely.
Mind you, the truck is being driven by one of the world’s greatest test drivers, Ben Collins, the man who was unmasked as “The Stig” from the original Top Gear series is working his magic behind the wheel.
Goodwood Hill Climb
Each year, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is held at the Goodwood House in West Sussex, England, showcasing some of the world’s most legendary vehicles in a format that makes it a bucket list item for any automotive enthusiast. The centerpiece of the festival is the Hill Climb, with competitors racing up the narrow driveway of the estate one at a time to see who can turn in the best time.
At first, the event was restricted to vehicles that would normally participate in this kind of on-road race, but over time, we have seen different types of vehicles in the field. This includes a variety of SUVs and trucks, including the modern Ford F-150 Raptor. While Ford certainly knew that the 450-horsepower pickup with off-road tires would make a real run at the win, Goodwood allowed the Motor Company to showcase the on-road performance of their off-road-ready half-ton.
Slippin’ and Slidin’
The Subaru Impreza race car that turned in the fastest lap at the 2016 Goodwood Hill Climb stopped the clock at just over 46 seconds. We don’t have an official time for the Raptor, there is no question that Collins is pushing the big truck as hard as he can. Based on the timing of the video, this run takes a little over a minute, which isn’t bad for a big truck competing against small cars, especially with the big burnout at the start of the run.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
