If you want a 700 horsepower Ford Raptor R, you’ll need to be willing to part ways with $109,245 for a new one. However, if you’re already the owner of a 2015-2020 Ford F-150 crew cab 4×4, you can get something very close to a Raptor R for $24,990, courtesy of Factory Five’s new XT-1 Pre-Runner kit.
The Factory Five XT-1 kit essentially swaps out the Ford F-150’s ladder frame chassis for a tube-frame chassis with long-travel suspension. According to Factory Five, the tube-frame chassis is 100 pounds heavier than the stock ladder frame but nearly twice as strong. It’s also powder coated and weather-resistant, comes with its own serial number, and maintains the truck’s original VIN.
However, it’s much wider than the standard F-150 and requires new body work—such as fenders and a hood—all of which is included in the XT-1 kit. With the XT-1 kit installed, the fenders stretch 90 inches wide, three inches wider than those of a stock Ford Raptor R. In addition to the custom fiberglass bodywork, the XT-1 kit provides fog lights, a skid plate, a carbon fiber front fascia (headlight and grille surrounds), a new rear tailgate, and a steel offroad bumper.
As for that long-travel suspension, the XT-1 brings remote-reservoir, dual-adjustable Fox shocks with 16 inches of travel of front and 20 inches at the rear. The stock rear leaf spring suspension is also replaced with a four-link suspension.
To use Factory Five’s XT-1 kit, you’ll need to provide your own donor truck, any 2015-2020 F-150 crew cab 4×4 will do, as long as it has a 5.5 foot bed, and 26 gallon fuel tank. Both the 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 or the 5.0-liter V8 will work. You’ll also need wheels that can accommodate 37 inch tires, as that’s what the XT-1 kit was designed for.
There are a few additional options as well. If you want a bit of extra road-going comfort for when you’re not desert racing, you can get rear sway bars for $399. A spare tire mount will cost an extra $199. A tow package—trailer hitch, pandhard bar, and axle-limiting straps—costs $699. And if you want the new body panels in carbon fiber, you’ll pay an extra $6,990. Factory Five will also be launching an optional race cage and off-road/race box section lower control arms, but the dates and pricing haven’t been announced.
The interior of your F-150 remains stock with this XT-1 kit, so you’ll lose no creature comforts, despite gaining baja truck capability.
A brief glance at AutoTrader shows that you can find nice F-150s in that year range for under $30,000. One of those plus this XT-1 kit will only set you back about $55,000-$60,000 (a bit more if you want a nicer, more luxurious example) plus installation. That’s still quite a bit less than the price of a Raptor R, with just as much chassis capability. Admittedly, you won’t get the Raptor R’s 700 horsepower engine but there are always engine mods you can make in addition to this kit.
The Factory Five XT-1 kit goes on sale in August. If you already own an F-150 of the correct vintage and want to have a proper desert racer without the lack of interior comforts, this XT-1 kit might just be worth its price tag.
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