Ford Motor Co. has begun shipping the Dearborn, MI-built 2017 F-150 Raptor off-road performance pickup to customers in China, marking the first time any U.S.A.-made F-Series truck has been officially exported to that country.
Ford boasts that the F-150 Raptor "is a class of one among off-road performance vehicles, with purpose-built engine, chassis and suspension — all of which enable it to travel fast over challenging desert landscapes or crawl along rocky terrain, from Baja to the Gobi Desert."
While the Raptor is the truck's racier, extreme variant, Ford recently topped 26 million F-150s sold globally since 1977. Noting the F-150's wide following, Joe Hinrichs, Ford president for the Americas, said exporting the trucks to China "enables us to bring a new group of enthusiasts into the Ford family."
Exported as a four-door SuperCrew model, the second-generation F-150 Raptor's features include a high-strength aluminum alloy cab, composite body, high-output 3.5L EcoBoost engine, a Ford-built 10-speed automatic transmission and six-mode Terrain Management System. Raptors also get a Ford Performance-engineered high-strength steel frame, Fox Racing shocks with higher ground clearance, BF Goodrich off-road tires and performance exhaust system.
