Ford has released new images of the Ford Raptor rally raid car that it hopes will claim outright victory at the 2025 Dakar Rally, and while we’re still denied a proper look at the final thing, the team has at least confirmed that four-time winner Carlos Sainz Sr. will be joined by Nani Roma as part of the four-driver lineup.
Details on the Raptor-branded truck remain scarce for now, but we do know that it’s being built by Ford’s long-time World Rally Championship partners M-Sport. Will it use the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6? That’s used in the standard, road-going F-150 Raptor and in the long-serving Raptor T1+, which this car will replace.
In the T1+, that engine produced 402hp and 599Nm of torque due to the strict regulations imposed by the FIA. But hang on—wouldn’t it be great if Ford deployed the 5.2-liter supercharged V8 from the F-150 Raptor R?
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Anyway, one advantage Ford will have over the competition is that it’s managed to draft in rally legend Sainz, who helped Audi secure its first-ever Dakar Rally success in 2024. Not a terrible transfer window for Ford, then, particularly since Sainz will be joined by experienced fellow Spaniard Roma—one of only three people to ever win the Dakar on both two and four wheels.
“I’m very excited by this new project, to work with Ford for a fourth time and to return to M-Sport,” said Sainz Sr.
“My history with Ford goes back to 1987, and I think I was Malcolm’s [Wilson, founder of M -port] first factory driver back in the day, and I’m very proud of that. I’m excited to be driving the Raptor and to approach this big challenge with a lot of goals. One is to help Ford win the Dakar Rally.”
With the 2025 staging of the event set to kick off in under eight months, expect a full reveal of the Raptor to be accompanied by names for the remaining two driver slots in due course.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
