Is the Ford Bronco Raptor Faster Than the F-150 Raptor?
The Ford Bronco Raptor is the newest member of the Raptor family. With 37-inch tires and a 400 horsepower V6, it promises to be one of the most capable SUVs around. But how will the Bronco Raptor stack up to the original–the F-150 Raptor? Will the Bronco be even faster?
F-150 Raptor | Bronco Outer Banks | Bronco Raptor | |
Engine | 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 | 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 | 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 |
Power | 450 horsepower 510 lb-ft of torque | 315 horsepower 410 lb-ft of torque | 400 horsepower (target) |
Weight | 7,050 pounds | 4,580 pounds | 5,750 pounds |
0-60 mph | 6.16 seconds | 6.6 seconds | unknown |
1/4-mile | 14.89 seconds @ 93.3 mph | 15.2 seconds @ 91 mph | unknown |
Ford’s flagship F-150 is the Raptor truck
The Ford F-150 Raptor is a mean, lean, off-road racing machine. This purpose-built truck is not as fast on the street as its predecessor, the supercharged F-150 Lightning, but it is still very fast.
When Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) tossed the first-gen Raptor’s V8 in favor of a twin-turbocharged V6, traditionalists feared the new truck would be slow. But the second-generation F-150 Raptor was far from slow. Even though it has long-travel suspension and off-road tires, it’s quicker on pavement than most modern trucks.
MotorTrend tested a 2021 F-150 Raptor on 35-inch tires with full time 4WD. The team found it could reach 60 mph in 6.16 seconds. It went on to finish the 1/4-mile in just 14.89 seconds. That is pretty impressive for a 7,000+ pound truck with a V6.
The all-new Ford Bronco is fast too
Ford Motor Company took aim at Jeep with its sixth-generation Bronco. Do not let the Bronco’s retro styling fool you. The advanced off-roader features a unibody chassis and independent front suspension.
Bronco buyers can opt for a 2.3-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder inline engine or a 2.7-liter, twin-turbocharged V6. Ford engineered its new Bronco as much for off-road performance as on-road quickness. But as SUVs go, the sixth-gen Bronco is no slouch.
MotorTrend put a 2021 Ford Bronco Outer Banks edition with the 2.7L V6 through its paces on a drag strip. The reviewers found the SUV to be nearly as fast as the F-150 Raptor. It reached 60 mph in just 6.6 seconds. Then it continued on through the 1/4-mile in just 15.2 seconds.
What’s the Bronco’s secret? Unlike the F-150, the Bronco leverages lightweight unibody construction. This means that while the F-150 Raptor comes in at a whopping 7,040 pounds, Ford Broncos range from just 4,286 pounds to 4,945 pounds.
The Ford Bronco Raptor may be the quickest Raptor yet
The all-new Raptor trim for the Ford Bronco enjoys several drivetrain upgrades. The Bronco Raptor will share FOX Racing shocks and long-travel suspension with the F-150 Raptor. The new Bronco Raptor will even come standard with the F-150 Raptor’s optional 37-inch tires. Finally, Ford is giving the Bronco Raptor a major engine upgrade.
To power the Bronco Raptor, Ford is borrowing a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 from the Explorer ST. Ford claims its targeting 400 horsepower for the Bronco Raptor’s V6. The number is entirely plausible: this engine makes 400 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque in the Explorer ST.
The power upgrade will be important: With larger tires, beefed-up suspension, and chassis stiffeners, the Bronco Raptor will weigh over a thousand pounds more than its base model brethren: 5,750 pounds. But while the Bronco Raptor will be heavy for a Bronco, it will still be much lighter than the 7,050 pound F-150 Bronco.
So will the Bronco Raptor be faster than the current F-150 Raptor? Their speeds will probably be close. The 4,701-pound Ford Explorer ST can reach 60 mph in 5.2 seconds. It shares an engine with the Bronco Raptor, but the Bronco Raptor is 1,000 pounds heavier.
Because Ford has yet to release acceleration numbers for the Bronco Raptor, we’ll have to wait and find out. That said, Ford has teased a new F-150 Raptor “R” with a supercharged V8. It looks like the Raptor family just got a whole lot more competitive.