There are trucks and then there are beasts. Most beasts get taller with lift kits. John Hennessey’s idea was to go long. Take an already wicked 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor and stretch it out with a third axle and two additional wheels.
The result, the 2018 Ford Velociraptor 6X6, was on display last week in the Shell Lubricants booth at the SEMA show (Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association) in Las Vegas.
And while a lift kit mostly boosts looks, Hennessey’s 6X6 Velociraptor is a serious honking machine.
The third axle is fully powered thanks to a custom pass-through differential at the middle axle and the leaf springs are moved forward to a center point between the two wheels to give you a rocking or bogie-like effect over rough terrain, the same as you’d find in the suspension of an articulated dump truck.
But this is no lumbering earthmover. The 605-horsepower/622 lb. ft. of torque torque machine sprints 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and stops on a sextet of Brembo six-piston calipers with 15.1 inch rotors. Price? Let’s just say around $350,000 depending on brakes.
Who might buy such a truck and what would they do with it? Hennessey figures the customers will use it like most Velociraptor owners use theirs. “It’s 80 percent for fun on the street and driving around and having something cool and comfortable to drive. And 20 percent will see more challenging action on the road, in the mountains, hunting, and in the desert and things like that,” he says.
