---
title: "Ford Will Run a (Nearly) Stock F-150 Raptor in the Baja 1000"
description: "All she really needed was a cage, a fuel cell, and some big ol' LEDs. "
date: "2016-10-31"
modified: "2016-10-31"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/5782/ford-will-run-a-nearly-stock-f-150-raptor-in-the-baja-1000"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Racing"
  - "Trucks"
tags:
  - "Baja 1000"
  - "F-150"
  - "F-150 Raptor"
  - "Ford"
  - "Off-Road"
  - "pickup"
  - "Raptor"
---

# Ford Will Run a (Nearly) Stock F-150 Raptor in the Baja 1000

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/ford-f-150-raptor-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Here are the main differences between the stock [2017 Ford F-150 Raptor and the version Ford will be racing in the Baja 1000](<https://blog.caranddriver.com/ford-is-running-a-basically-stock-2017-f-150-raptor-in-the-baja-1000/>) this November:

**—\>A chromalloy steel safety cage**

**—\> A race-spec fuel cell**

**—\>Racing seats with full harnesses**

**—\>LED race lighting**

That’s it. That’s all that Ford added.

Okay, the carmaker tweaked the springs and shocks a bit to handle the extra weight of the fuel cell and cage. But that’s it. Because [the new F-150 Raptor, it seems, is just that much of a B.A.M.F.](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/4778/watch-the-2017-ford-f-150-raptor-pound-sand>)

It certainly seems to be on paper. As we all should know by now, Ford traded in the old Raptor’s naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8 for the latest version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, which has been cranked up to 450 horsepower and 510 lb.-ft of torque for Raptor duty. That power zips to all four wheels through [the new 10-speed automatic transmission jointly developed by Ford and GM](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/3317/the-2017-ford-f-150-gets-a-new-engine-that-seems-oddly-familiar>), which we’re sure is as uncofmortable a thought to all those new F-150 owners as it is to the Chevy die-hards with their Camaro ZL1 orders in.

When the 2017 F-150 Raptor hits the dirt on November 16th for the Baja 1000, it’ll be following in the tread patterns of its predecessor. In 2008, the previous-generation truck covered the 631-mile course in a hair more than 25 hours and 28 minutes. But with the added power and a decade of technological advances crammed into the new model, it could put the old truck to shame.

“There are an extra two inches of wheel travel,” [driver Greg Foutz said in a press release](<https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2016/10/31/ford-returns-to-baja-1000-with-all-new-2017-f-150-raptor.html>), in which he extolled the virtues of the new truck.

Foust will be no stranger to either the Baja 1000 or the new Raptor when he climbs behind the wheel in a couple weeks for the big race; he has four Baja 1000 victories to his name, and has already [driven the 2017 F-150 Raptor in multiple off-road races so far this year](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/2014/the-new-ford-f-150-raptor-is-goin-racing>).

Whether the new F-150 Raptor will help Foust claim a victory in the 49th running of the iconic race, however, remains to be seen. But we’ll know by November 20th.

https://youtube.com/embed/7nfcyXR-IX0

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)