YOU might remember my recent road test of the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor, in which I extolled the head-turning qualities of the latest 290hp ‘performance’ version of Ford’s best-selling load-lugger, writes David Roy.
While the double-cabbed, twin-turbo V6-powered Ranger Raptor pick-up is most certainly imposing enough to make your presence emphatically felt wherever you take it, whether hooning it through muddy ditches or just dropping your kids off at school, there are some folks for whom bigger is always better.
For that crowd, there’s the Hennessey VelociRaptoR 6x6 ‘super truck’: a souped-up version of the supercharged, V8-powered American Ford F-150 Raptor R pick-up, which the Texas-based ‘hypercar manufacturer and high-performance vehicle creator’ is about to put into full production.
A HALF-MILLION DOLLAR BEHEMOTH
Costing a cool $499,999, as its name suggests, the VelociRaptoR 6x6 is a six-wheeled behemoth which utilises a third-generation F-150 Raptor R as its foundation: the price tag includes the cost of the donor truck, which is around $110k.
That extra $389,999k gets you one hulking beast of a vehicle, which boasts an extended boxed frame carrying huge eight-foot long bed in place of Ford’s stock five-and-a-half-foot cargo area, boosting its capacity by more than 45 percent.
Read more:
- Ford Ranger Raptor: performance and practicality
- Ford Ranger Raptor gets even more 'bad ass'
FOUR WHEELS GOOD, SIX WHEELS BETTER
Moreover, the VelociRaptoR 6x6 also features a second, fully functional locking rear axle, which Hennessey claim improves the truck’s grip by more than 50 per cent over the standard 4x4 version, while a three-inch lift raises the body high enough that the truck can roll on custom-made 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped in gigantic 37-inch off-road tires.
As a result, the VelociRaptoR 6x6 is nearly 27-feet long, standing at around seven-feet tall, with a curb weight of approximately three-tonnes.
All that weight is riding on suspension equipped with Live Valve Fox dampers, “the most advanced off-road suspension available on a production vehicle” according to Hennessey.
V8-POWERED BEAST
Intriguingly, the Texan tinkerers leave the standard-fit Ford Raptor R engine alone, presumably because this supercharged 5.2-liter V8 already boasts a formidable 700 bhp at 6,650 rpm and 640 lb ft torque at 4,250 rpm right out of the box.
“The F-150 Raptor R is competent right from the factory, but our 6x6 upgrade improves it dramatically,” says John Hennessey, company founder and CEO.
“It gains significantly more traction thanks to 50 percent more driven wheels. The eight-foot bed adds a truck-load of increased utility, and the combination of three axles, a body lift, and a roaring V8 delivers unmatched stage presence.”
Complementing the mechanical upgrades are new front and rear bumpers, LED off-road lights, and Hennessey VelociRaptoR badging.
BANG FOR BUCK?
Is all that really worth half-a-million dollars – especially when the end product is likely slower than a stock F-150 Raptor R thanks to all that extra bulk?
Well, someone is buying these things: Hennessey is touted as “the world's largest producer of modified Ford F-150 Raptors” and claims to have “already built thousands of high-performance VelociRaptor trucks for customers around the world since the truck was first introduced by Ford in 2009”.
Yes, you too can own one of these custom-built beasts, though good luck finding a road big enough on which to drive your gas-guzzling seven-foot-wide monster on this side of the pond.
For those brave – and rich enough - the VelociRaptoR 6x6 is available for international shipping when ordered via authorised Ford retailers or directly from Hennessey at HennesseyPerformance.com – and every truck comes with a comprehensive three-year / 36,000-mile warranty.
VELOCIRAPTOR 6X6: UPGRADES TO FORD F-150 RAPTOR R
- 6x6 Locking Rear Axles
- Eight-Foot Load Bed
- Velociraptor Front Bumper
- Front LED Light Bar in Front Bumper
- Velociraptor Rear Bumper
- 20-Inch Hennessey Wheels
- 37-Inch Off-Road Tires
- Fox ‘Live Valve’ Shocks
- Front Suspension Leveling Kit
- Three-inch Overall Lift
- Professional Installation
- Road Testing (Up To 400 Miles)
- Hennessey & VelociRaptoR Exterior Badging
- Serial Numbered Interior Plaque & Engine Bay Plaque
- Three-year / 36,000 Mile Limited Warranty
