This trip is a fast and dirty, rally-style, wild ride along long flat sebkha and up high dunes. Just as the Raptor SVT likes it!
Driving fast on dirt tracks is where the Ford Raptor shines – this is what is has been designed and bred to do: and the results are impressive! This is the best off-road vehicle for these kinds of tracks that I have ever driven, and I’ve been writing motoring since 2004. No contest, the Raptor beats them all.
Born out of the Baja rallies in northern Mexico – these are the Paris-Dakar of North America – the Ford F-150 is used as a base for a serious desert-racing machine. Besides the awesome power of the big 411 hp 6.2 L V8 engine, the suspension is the most amazing feature of this truck. The specs are incredible.
I hit bumps at speeds that were previously unthinkable – truly mind-boggling: try it if you get the chance.
The suspension is simply amazing and high speeds off-road are possible. The secret of the Raptor's success lies in professional-grade racing suspension components: the front is coil-on-shock, long-spindle double-wishbone independent, aluminum lower control arm, forged-steel upper arm, FOX Racing Shox; and the rear is a Hotchkiss-type non-independent live, leaf springs and outboard shock absorbers, also running FOX Racing Shox.
From the camel racetrack just south of Al Wagan, heading due west, a very wide and open sebkha (flat gravel plain) will take you all the way through a valley in between very high dune ranges. It ends at a fence far to the west, so roam as far and wide as you like, and then to exit just head east until the tarmac.
With a suspension as good as this, drivers can hardly refrain from jumping motocross-style:
And, if you’re interested, view the Ford SVT Chief Engineer, Mr. Jamal Hameedi, explain:
Download the KML file for your GPS by clicking here. Once downloaded, you can import the file into your GPS device and take it on the road, or double-click that file and it will open automatically in Google Earth if you have that installed (all adventurers should! Google Earth).
And here is an interactive map of the route.
View weekendUAE trip to Al Wagan with Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in a larger map
As you see on the map, the track takes you far and fast on the flats – but the high dunes are there for a quick diversion and to gain some height for great views!
The Raptor has a large pick-up bed, with a handy divider and extender. It also comes with a step and a folding handle to help you step up and back out.
While this trip is about the drive, not the destination; the scenery is marvelous open desert and its inhabitants. This is a drive for the hardcore desert drivers!
My disclaimer is here.