http://www.topgear.com/us/blog/more/...conquers-baja/

 

Was it all stock?

 

Baja is real man's motor racing; half of the trucks that start don't finish, so that the Raptor did is already impressive. But it did more than just survive, placing on the podium in Class 8 (as the truck isn't in production yet, it couldn't run with other production trucks in Stock Full). It finished using some bits from the stock Raptor llike the transmission, brakes, axles, and frame.
Moreover, the truck used a lightly warmed over 500 hp version of the Raptor's 6.2L V8--consumers will be offered essentially the same engine. "Even with the extreme capability of the F-150 SVT Raptor right out of the box, we know our customers will want to take its performance to an even higher level," said Ford Racing sales and marketing manager Jamie Allison. "This race truck will be invaluable to Ford Racing as we examine what performance parts we'll be able to offer customers for the production Raptor."

 

I know the father of one of the drivers. The driver is a Ford dealership owner in Las Vegas and has his own $400k pre-runner he races. His father said they did break something but he couldn't remember what.

 

Sounds like it will be the first production Off Road vehicle ever created for Off Roading... The 4x4's we drive are for getting through some slick spots. This Raptor sounds pretty cool. Anywho, off to buy a Lotto ticket so I can afford one.

 

They broke the pass. side leaf spring perch and part of the leaf spring itself. They also changed the driveshaft but that was just a precautionary measure. They had an overheating issue but discovered that the cooling fans had not been plugged back in after they did some welding to fix the leaf spring perch. They also ran the whole thing in 2wd but got stuck in a deep soot pit where alot of other trucks ended up getting stuck as well. The officials eventually re-routed the course around that particular section. Overall, a very impressive first time performance!

 

The fact that just a little tuning got the 6.2 to 500+ HP is very promising. Imagine what a little forced induction will do.

 

Looks like Ford has a great product on their hands.