Shelby F-150 Pickups Battle on the Drag Strip

Shelby F-150 duel goes to the truck with the supercharged V8, but the head-to-head comparison is interesting.

The modern Ford F-150 is surprisingly quick, offering comparable straight line performance to the SVT Lightning from the early 2000s, but for those who want more performance, Shelby American has the answer. In fact, Shelby has several answers, depending on which late model F-150 you own.

In the video above from the Kunes Country TV YouTube channel, we get to watch two of Shelby’s strongest F-150 packages go head-to-head in a drag race. While the results are predictable, this footage showcases how differently the two perform relative to each other in a straight line.

Boosted F-150 Details

In the near lane, we have a metallic blue Shelby F-150 and in the far lane, a black Shelby Baja Raptor.

The Shelby Baja Raptor is, of course, based on Ford’s Raptor, but Shelby American adds a cold air intake, a high flow air filter, an aluminum intercooler and an engine tune that lifts the output of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 to 525 horsepower and 610 lb-ft of torque. This package also includes suspension upgrades that make the Raptor even more capable in a gnarly off-road setting, but in this case, all that really matters is the extra power.

As for the Shelby F-150, it is powered by a 5.0-liter V8, which offers less power than the Raptor’s EcoBoost in stock form, but the Shelby package adds a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger, larger fuel injectors, a larger throttle body, an aluminum intercooler, a cold air intake and a Borla exhaust system to lift the output to 755 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque. This package also includes an off-road-ready performance suspension setup with big wheels and tires, but again, all that really matters in this video is the big power.

Dueling Shelby Pickups

So, if you know anything at all about drag racing, you only need to look at these two trucks and the accompanying power numbers to know which is going to win in a drag race. There might be some weight advantage for the Baja Raptor, but with an advantage of 230 horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque, any extra weight carried by the V8 truck doesn’t make any real difference.

The video above shows two races between these Shelby-modified F-150 pickups, with the two racing from a dig on a private runway. In both races, the EcoBoost Raptor gets off of the line just as well as the supercharged V8 truck, but it doesn’t take long for the Whipple’d F-150 to pull away to a huge lead.

While the outcome is predictable, this video does a nice job of show the real world difference between an F-150 with 525 horsepower and a similar half-ton truck with 755 horsepower. As it turns out, the difference amounts to many truck-lengths in what appears to be roughly a quarter mile of drag racing.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy!

Join the F-150 Online forums now!

Patrick Rall

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Facebook   Twitter