SPY PICS: Ford F-150 Raptor spotted in Melbourne

A left-hand-drive Ford F-150 Raptor evaluation vehicle has been spotted testing in inner Melbourne, with Ford Australia confirming it to be a member of its local fleet.

Spotted heading for Balaclava last weekend, the orange Raptor was fitted with Victorian numberplates and subsequently posted to the Car Spotters Australia Facebook group where it’s drummed up quite the interest from locals.

Ford Australia has confirmed to carsales the performance pick-up is one of their left-hook development vehicles and has been on home soil for a while now undergoing local evaluation at the hands of product planners and engineers.

“The F-150 Raptor that was spotted has been here for some time as part of our ongoing product development work,” a spokesperson said.

“We regularly bring left-hand-drive vehicles to Australia for validation, comparison and other development work, so they are not necessarily representative of our local product plans.”

The Blue Oval’s Aussie division has long said more versions of the F-150 could be added to its homegrown right-hook conversion program pending the success of the initial XLT and Lariat variants, with the V6-powered Raptor one of the prime candidates to join the fray.

The headline figures are as follows: 336kW/691Nm from a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, full-time 4x4, a 10-speed automatic transmission, a sub-six-second 0-100km/h time and a maximum braked towing capacity of 3727kg.

All these numbers, save perhaps for the 0-100km/h time, shade the smaller Ranger Raptor, and it’s the towing capabilities that seem to be exciting Aussies.

“That’s a better Raptor,” someone said in the comments of the original post.

“There’s a Raptor that can actually tow a meaningful weight,” another said.

“About bloody time,” a third said.

Like its Ranger sibling, the F-150 Raptor rides on continuously variable compression damping Fox Racing shock absorbers and a coil-sprung rear end in the name of performance and capability, however it does limit the big rig’s payload to 641kg.

With the current XLT SWB starting from $106,950 plus on-road costs and the top-spec Lariat LWB topping out at $140,945 before options, there’s little doubt the F-150 Raptor will start well north of $150,000 if/when it’s introduced locally, inevitably destined to do battle with the new RAM 1500 RHO.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au