Five fiery utes that’ll make you forget your Ford Ranger Raptor
Keen to one-up in the Bunnings car park? These collectable load-luggers blend bombastic grunt with bulk presenceYes. OK. We see you. We hear you.
Your Ford Ranger Raptor is a cool bit of kit, no doubt, but with so many on the road, aren’t you worried your ‘personality extension’ is becoming a bit… ubiquitous?
Then let us help.
We’ve trawled the carsales classifieds to unearth some lesser-known gems; none of which were factory-sold here, but many of which have developed their own cult followings.
From 8.3-litre V10s to a name associated more with Le Mans than load-carrying, here are five collectable utes currently for sale at carsales that will definitely be unique, from Bunnings to Beach Road.
2004 Ford F-150 Lightning – $82,500
Three decades ago, Ford’s original F-150 Lightning was named for its flash of speed instead of its power source.
Created by Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) back in 1993, the original Lightning was based on the ninth-generation F-150 and powered by a 179kW/460Nm 5.8-litre V8 – up 30kW over standard.
Sounds like small change in 2024, but it was enough to propel the truck to a 15.8sec quarter-mile time.
The first Lightning was a complete performance package with a lower, stiffer suspension tune, 17-inch alloys and contoured bucket seats. To save weight, it was only available in rear-wheel drive.
Car and Driver gave it the nod over Chevrolet’s 454SS in-period, calling it far more ‘car-like’ than Chevy’s big-block behemoth.
Lightning continued to strike in the 10th-generation F-Truck, with a 5.4-litre supercharged V8 arriving in 1999. Initially rated at 268kW/597Nm, a 2001 upgrade to 283kW/610Nm through the rear wheels (now 18 inches, with bespoke Goodyear Eagle tyres) had Motortrend nail a 13.6sec quarter-mile in a 2004 model.
This example is one of only 3781 produced in 2004, its last production year in this form.
Click here to view the full listing while it lasts!
2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10 – $75,000
If the ‘truck engine’ myth is to be believed, then the Ram SRT-10 is the Viper story come full circle.
However, history shows that the Viper’s aluminium 8.0-litre V10 came before the ‘truck’ cast-iron V10 in the Dodge stable… and it was built with Lamborghini knowledge (Chrysler owned Lambo at
the time).
With the legendary Bob Lutz at the helm and asking for a modern-day Cobra, the sculptural Viper was created to play in the Corvette space, BUT BIGGER.
Dodge’s Performance Vehicles Operations team shoehorned the huge V10 into the Viper for its 1992 debut and a long career in sports car racing beckoned.
Taking this inspiration, Dodge decided to add the Viper engine, now at 8.3 litres, to its Ram 1500 pick-up range. Called the SRT-10, it debuted in 2003. It offered a round 500hp in the old money (373kW) but backed it up with a 712Nm torque peak, albeit at a high-for-a-truck 4200rpm. But SRT-10 wasn’t made for towing…
Available in rear-drive only, it could punch out mid-13sec quarter-mile times. It also added bling to match its beef, with 22-inch alloys, a rear spoiler and that frontal treatment.
Undercutting a new Raptor by nearly $15,000 (RRP, though a quick scan of carsales classies reveals several lightly-used Raptors for over six figures) and showing only 53,000km from new, this 2006 SRT-10 Quad Cab features a column-shifted four-speed auto and comes from the final year of production.
It does have the factory option sunroof and is said to be one of only 310 built in Mineral Gray for 2006.
Click here to view the full listing while it lasts!
2016 Ford F-150 Shelby – $130,000
The Carroll Shelby name has enjoyed renewed fame since 2019’s Ford versus Ferrari film. But for enthusiasts, his legend has been a hallmark of motoring since the 1950s.
Although he passed away in 2012, his legacy lives on via the Shelby American business. They’re the crew that modify Mustangs to insane performance levels… and they’ve also waved the wand over Ford F-Trucks for a number of years.
The latest Shelby F-150 series arrived for the 2016 model year. A collaboration with Tuscany Motor Co and initially limited to 500 units per year, the Shelby super-truck sported a choice of atmospheric or supercharged 5.0-litre V8s, with the latter producing 700hp – that’s 522kW.
It’s a similar recipe to what Ford Performance Vehicles used with its last GTs, taking a ‘Coyote’ V8 and adding supercharged boost. For the Shelby trucks a Whipple supercharger is employed, breathing through a carbon-fibre intake and exhaling via a Borla exhaust. The package was good enough for 12sec quarter-miles.
But it wasn’t just horsepower; like any Shelby, it was a holistic package which featured Shelby-specific Fox Shocks that had two-stage adjustment on each corner, plus a 3.5-inch suspension lift, 35-inch all-terrains and functional hood scoops placed all over the aggressive bodywork. And in case you forgot, there is Shelby badging plastered throughout.
The Shelby F-150 range continues on today with up to 775hp and sky-high pricing; take this MY23 as an example.
Better value can be found with this 2016 model, showing only 40,000km on the clock and finished in traditional Shelby white with blue stripes. The vendor simply describes this $130,000 example as ‘hard as nails when it comes to a working vehicle’. Enough said.
Click here to view the full listing while it lasts!
2017 Toyota Tundra TRD PRO – $116,900
While it took a few years for the Japanese brands to arrive in the Australian performance ute space (think Nissan Navara Warrior and Toyota’s new HiLux GR Sport), there have been a couple of North American-flavoured options around for a while. Take the Toyota Tundra TRD (for Toyota Racing Developments) PRO.
Introduced for the 2015 model year, the Tundra TRD PRO was initially based on the limited-edition ‘Baja’ series Tundra and used much of that model’s hardware including the suspension lift, special off-road shocks and beadlock wheels.
That, combined with its 4x4 system, gave the Tundra a decidedly off-road flavour when compared to the F-150 Lightning and Ram SRT-10, but it did lack in power against these despite using Toyota’s own (but ageing) 5.7-litre V8 engine.
Producing 285kW/544Nm, it could push the 2.5-tonne Tundra to a low-15sec quarter, but the TRD was more about off-road adventure than dragway timesheets.
Converted to right-hand drive by Performax International and showing only 27,500km on the odometer, this example presents well and its V8 breathes through the factory TRD exhaust. The bespoke leather interior and TRD touches such as the BBS alloys, Fox off-road suspension, side-exit exhaust, floor mats and quarter-inch skid plate are present and correct.
Fast-forward to 2024 and Toyota finally looks like bringing Tundra to Australia in an official capacity via a conversion arrangement with Walkinshaw Group. While there’s no official word on the TRD Pro version arriving, the current-generation’s 325kW/790Nm 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 hybrid drivetrain will surely keep those Raptor owners guessing…
Click here to view the full listing while it lasts!
2022 RAM 1500 TRX – $195,000
And if money is no object… why not a brand-new RAM TRX?
As our own Bruce Newton discovered in this 2023 comparison, the RAM TRX is a monster alright, but it’s a monster that starts from $224,950 plus on-roads.
That’s probably the best bet, if you’re prepared to wait for delivery, because there are several lightly-used examples available now for over a quarter-mill…
For that outlay you are getting 6.2 litres of supercharged HEMI V8, mind-boggling outputs of 523kW/882Nm and the ability to nail the quarter-mile in 12.9sec (officially), or 12.3sec as recorded by Car and Driver.
Where the modern-day RAM muscle truck differs from the SRT-10 concept is its off-road ability, using full-time four-wheel drive with selectable low-range, 35-inch all-terrains on 18-inch wheels and Bilstein Black Hawk suspension with a 2.0-inch lift over standard.
If you do want one of these, though, you better be quick… MY24 examples will be the last.
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