In a world full of fakes, deep fakes, fake news, fake meat, con artists, just plain old influencers...
[Dude just threw half the Internet under the bus!]
...never before has there been more of an emphasis on authenticity.
That's because everywhere we go, we're presented with people and things who just aren't what they say they are.
The Ford Bronco Raptor is one of those rare things that is what it says it is on the box.
In fact, I think it is the box.
And that puts the Bronco in some pretty serious company.
[Introducing Jeep Wrangler 392, Defender 90 V8 and Mercedes-AMG G63]
[We told that weirdo to move out of the shot, but he wouldn't.]
"Authenticity."
Being true to its name is why the whole, "It's a Jeep thing" is a thing.
And why the Mercedes G-Wagen is a G Thang [We couldn't afford the rights to the Dr. Dre song.]
...and why the Land Rover Defender is...
probably experiencing an electrical problem, but still could somehow make
it across the entire Sahara Desert!
Those three nameplates are icons that took decades to cultivate.
Not so with Raptor, because within two minutes, everybody knew exactly what a Raptor was.
It was an off-road truck that could go anywhere. At any speed.
This thing is genuinely nuts! [Pot, meet kettle.]
418 hp seems like a lot so you realize this thing has 5700 lb to pull around.
However [it makes] 440 lb-ft of torque and it makes that torque all of the time.
The gears are so short and closely spaced that you could bang through four of them in between jumps.
This truck uses suspension from the F-150 Raptor which is, like, five sizes wider.
That translates to five times the stability, says physics. Or maybe just me. [It's just you, Jason.]
You can run over anything in this truck! It just doesn't care.
I'm not going to read you some spec page about approach and departure angles,
because here's what you need to know about the Braptor:
It defecates on every other vehicle in the world (eww) including the F-150 Raptor, in every metric important to off-roading.
I mean, you've all heard of baja right? This thing is bajaja! [Oh god make him stop.]
'Cuz it's so stupid!
There's not just one reason why the Bronco Raptor can do all that, there are thirteen.
That's the number of inches of front suspension travel it has —
14 at the back!
And the suspension is controlled by adaptive Fox internal bypass shocks.
It also has 10 inches of squishy sidewall. [So does Jason, for the record.]
We know this because this is a 37 inch tire, that is a 17 inch wheel.
37 - 17 = 20 ÷ 2 =10. #math
37 is a huge tire and that's really important,
because when a rolling item, like a tire, encounters a vertical rise in the road, like a bump or a rock,
its angle of vertical deflection is [inversely] correlated to its overall diameter.
In English, this just means the bigger the tire, the bigger stuff that it can roll over
before it reaches that critical point where the vertical height of the object approaches the distance between the hub and the contact patch.
...which is exactly the point at which a bump becomes an in$urance claim.
We all know science is never fun, which is why you guys need a practical demonstration.
Allow me! A big wheel rolls right over an obstacle...
With little wheels....
Big wheels are one of the reasons the Braptor can do what it does.
[The kid lived. We can safely move on.]
I'd like to think I have, like, a Master's Degree in rental car wreckage.
This thing is Ford's masterclass PhD in how to survive mechanical unsympathy.
Because with these wheels and those tires, it will go over
everything that you genuinely think, "No way. Not possible."
And it doesn't require a lot of throttle to do it. This low range first gear is so low that
this thing can put 29,845 lb-ft of torque to the ground!
So all of this happens with no stress.
I know this thing looks like a G-Wagen, or a Defender, or even a Jeep, but the Bronco Raptor is in a different league entirely.
A Wrangler would literally crack in half trying to do things that the Braptor does with ease.
Comparing them based on looks is like comparing a Subaru BRZ and a Ferrari 812 in straight-line acceleration, just because they're both front-engine coupes.
When it comes to off-roading and rock crawling and baja-style insanity, the Braptor is in a class of one.
I genuinely believe if you wanted to kill this truck you'd have to kill yourself doing it.
I once killed a truck. I did.
I just didn't think it was appropriate to wreck an Isuzu Trooper that ran. So I made sure it didn't run.
[We all knew Cammisa was a closet redneck.]
Aaaaand that took a lot of effort.
But none of the things that it took to finally kill that poor red thing would have even registered in a Braptor.
It's one thing to be a tough truck. It's something else to be a Raptor...
and that's because, to quote the Baby Raptor's chassis engineer...
"We know what our customers are going to do with this vehicle."
Welcome to Starbucks, can I take your order please?
Hi i'd like a Venti, iced, single-source Sumatra with room; one honey, three protein powder, no ice,
one banana, two strawberry, triple soy milk, add foam; two pumps of white mocha and
can have that in a Trenta cup please?
Oh! Double-blended with caramel drizzle on top! Theeeeeenks.
The Braptor is 10 inches wider than a regular Bronco.
To put that in perspective, that's more than the difference between the narrowest Mercedes-Benz
sold in America and the widest. This thing is huge.
And the hood is really high, so luckily it has an off-road camera facing forward — so you can see what you're about to hit.
Never mind.
All of this gives an incredible sense of invincibility,
like you're wearing one of those blow-up Sumo suits where your friends can tackle you and you basically don't even feel it.
THE FOLLOWING IS A SAFELY CRAFTED TELEVISION PARODY. DO NOT EVER DRIVE LIKE THIS.
The off-road ability may be something people don't actually use,
but it pays huge dividends in the real world.
The Bronco Raptor hits the same potholes and curbs (and pedestrians) that all the other cars hit...
the difference is they just don't exist in this thing.
The Braptor rides great — but it's not quite the magic carpet ride that the F-150 Raptor has
(that F-150 Raptor might be the best riding car on sale anywhere in the world.)
The difference is for two reasons:
Number one: this is a convertible, so the structure isn't as strong — even though the Braptor has additional bracing.
Number two the wheelbase is 29 inches shorter than the F-150 Raptor's.
To put that in Mercedes terms again, 29 inches is longer than the difference
between the smallest sedan Mercedes sells, and the biggest one: the Maybach.
Uh, this still is not a small vehicle though. You might think taking it on a twisty back road
would be like, I don't know, taking a cruise ship to an autocross.
But you'd be wrong.
In fact, this is more fun on a back road than a 911 GT3. Way more fun.
[Hagerty does NOT recommend driving like this.]
Mwhahhaaa... Hork it in!
[Hagerty INSISTS you NEVER drive like this.]
[Hagerty is putting Jason in a straitjacket.]
The suspension is so soft the body motions can be measured in feet — look at that!
Three feet of brake dive! Four yards of body roll!
This is so dumb!
And everything just happens in slow motion because the tires are so gooey.
The chassis balance is so good, you pitch it in, add power back, it rotates around!
This is so dumb fun.
And the best part is you don't have to worry about hitting anything.
Like come around in a corner in the middle of the corner — it's blind — oh there's a rock there! You just hit it!
[Hagerty asks that you pray for Jason's safe return from the asylum.]
[Hagerty has now cancelled Jason's personal insurance policy.]
Oh Jesus Christ, we have no brakes! [This was not in the script.]
...The [ __ ] was that?!
Okay, so it's all fun and games until the brakes give out.
Sometimes it's (because of) ABS calibration issues thanks to those knobbly, gooey tires.
And sometimes the Braptor's brakes just overheat.
Big sidewalls means small wheels — and that leaves room for hot-hatch sized brakes on a truck that weighs as much as two hot hatches.
I guess there had to be some drawback to all that off-road ability, but that's it!
And that's really impressive. Look, the Raptor is the Bronco people are dreaming they're buying when they buy a regular Bronco.
...or a Bronco Sport, which is neither a Bronco nor a sport.
This is something that automotive product planners just can't wrap their heads around.
They're taught that if you want to sell a million cars, you need to make it appeal to
vaguely everyone — but offend absolutely no one.
And so out in the real world everything is a blob that's painted silver, white, gray, or black.
Seriously! The next time you're out in the real world, look around at the utter lack of personality and color.
It's an epidemic of boring.
The product planners are right — if the goal is to sell widgets.
But if you want to create something that people lust after, you go the other way.
Kick the product planners out and install a team of enthusiasts who completely understand the mindset of the buyers
— because they are those buyers.
That's how the Raptor happened.
It's the same thing with the Wrangler.
It's a "Jeep Thing" because the Wrangler is done by people who are authentically Jeep People.
It may be the least "roadworthy" of all of the iconic monster trucks...
but that's precisely the reason why Jeep sells more Wranglers in the U.S. than Audi does all of its cars and trucks combined.
(!!!!) Seriously.
And it's a familiar story over at Mercedes.
Every year, Mercedes-Benz sells more G-Wagens than ever before,
and the funniest thing in the world is watching the Germans try to figure this out.
Zis is technology from the 1970s!
It cannot do a lap of zee Nürburgring!
It von't do 300 kilometers an hour on the Autobahn!
Who gives a Schwinging Scheiße?!
That is a Jeep! Built to Mercedes-Benz build standards! What is not to love?!
[Strange sound only Jason can make.]
Speaking of non-Germans, if you want to understand the Defender's appeal, well, just look at it.
On the road, this is the sportiest of our icons but it has off-road cred to back up its looks....
and all of the posh British luxury that a country gentleman needs while milling about the farm.
...but the Braptor takes it all to the next level.
Combining two iconic nameplates (Bronco and Raptor) could have been a double-whammy marketing disaster.
But Ford took all of the right (authentic) people and put them behind this project.
...and absolutely nailed it.
It's a street legal Trophy Truck, shaped like the box it came in.
I can think of only a handful of vehicles that so comprehensively nail their intended function.
Half of them are in this episode. All of them are icons...
...and it's because they're authentic.
Your favorite influencer just wouldn't understand.
Thank you for watching.
[Jason is in an asylum somewhere in that valley.]
[His license has been permanently revoked.]