A big badass Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Super Crew pickup truck, seen in east Beijing in 2016. The Raptor was painted in white with black bumpers and black wheel arches, and a large black decal on the bonnet.
The Raptor and China long had a somewhat problematic relationship. The F-150 was extremely popular in China in the 2000’s and 2010’s but Ford didn’t want to sell it in China, fearing the big gasoline guzzling truck would hurt their image. But that didn’t stop Chinese consumers from getting the things. Literally thousands of cars arrived via the gray market, with Chinese car dealers buying them directly from dealers in the US.
The Raptor costs anywhere between 650.000 and a million yuan, and that was 105.000 to 160.000! A big mark up for the gray boys! We told Detroit about this but nothing seemed to happen for a very long time. Ford started selling the Raptor officially in China only in 2017.
The interior of these relatively high end trucks was not bad for the segment, with nice leather seats, fancy trim on the doors and dash, a rather advanced infotainment system, and a cool lever for the automatic gearbox.
The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is powered by a mighty 6.2 liter V8 that poops out 411hp and 590nm, good for a crazy 200 km/h top speed. The motor was mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox, sending horses to all wheels.
In Beijing, these trucks were, and still are, used to go off-roading in the mountains to the north of Beijing, or further north on the plains of Inner Mongolia.
Exhaust pipes on the right side, exhausting to the right.
This kind of odd additions are often seen on unofficially imported car. This is an extra fog light, obligatory for large pickup trucks in China.
While great down country, the Raptor wasn’t very practical in town, where roads and parking spaces are small. In many cities in China this kind of cars isn’t even allowed into the city centers, so you’ll find most of them in the suburbs and the hinterlands.