Note the forward-facing camera finds its way back onto the Raptor.

Today marks a huge day for the off road community as Ford put all of the rumors to rest and finally announced the 2017 Ford F150 Raptor!

Unveiled at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Michigan, the 2017 Ford Raptor was presented to the public for the first time. While there had been rumors of a second-gen Raptor floating around for some time with “mules” being spotted in the desert, there still was a big question mark for off road enthusiasts whether or not the Raptor would ever find its way into production again. With today’s announcement, nearly all of the unanswered questions were finally answered!

The Ford engineers did not take the easy route and just transfer all of the components from the first-gen onto the new F150 platform, incase you were wondering. As it turns out, the 2017 Raptor has a host of new features and improves off of the first-gen in nearly every way.

To discuss the features of the 2017 Raptor, we caught up with Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer of Ford Global Performance Vehicles, to find out what’s new and what to expect with this exciting release.  

While the first-gen Raptor had the 6.2-liter V8 under the hood, many owners and car enthusiasts alike wished that Ford would offer the EcoBoost option in the truck. While this never happened in the first-gen, the 2017 Raptor will be equipped with a 3.5-liter EcoBoost and a 10-speed (yes, you read that correctly) electronic transmission. Hameedi explained, “This 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine is launching in the Raptor and is exclusive to the Raptor. It is not the same 3.5-liter EcoBoost found in the 2015 F150 or Navigator. We are not announcing horsepower figures yet, but it will have more horsepower than the outgoing 6.2-liter V8.”

The first-gen Raptor came with an exclusive wheelbase that combined the Supercab body style with the 5.5-foot bed found on the standard F150 Supercrew to optimize its off road performance. According to Hameedi, the second-gen will receive the same treatment as he explains, “The 2017 Raptor has an all-new frame with a 133-inch wheelbase that is exclusive to the Raptor Supercab. In addition, it is 500-pounds lighter thanks to the aluminum body.”

Fox Racing shocks find their way back onto the Raptor and according to Hameedi, “The Fox shocks have gone from 2.5-inch internal bypass shocks to 3.0-inch internal bypass shocks to offer more travel, a smoother ride, and better heat dissipation.”

Hameedi then touched on the driveline system that receives new upgrades both electronically and mechanically. The first-gen Raptor had quite the mix of electronic driving aids that were sometimes hard to figure out. As such, the 2017 Raptor will include Ford’s new “Smart Terrain System” which according to Hameedi, “will make all of the electronic settings in the truck easier to use.”

BFGoodrich All Terrain KO2s find their way onto the 2017 Raptor.

In addition, the driveline has been improved and according to Hameedi, “We have a new dual-mode transfer case which has a clutch for all wheel drive on demand as well as a mechanical locking feature. It takes the torque on demand transfer case and combines it with an electronic shift on the fly transfer case.”

All in all, the 2017 Raptor looks better than ever. Hameedi had one final thing to say about the new Raptor, “The truck is faster than the old one, it’s lighter, it has more suspension travel, and has more dampening. We have improved every aspect of the truck.”

We are very excited for the Raptor to finally hit the market so keep it locked on Offroad Xtreme for more information and let us know what you think of it in the comments section below!