Gold standard: A Monster 1200 R with 24K Gold Accents

The Ducati Monster 1200 R is a brutal machine—and I mean that in the best way possible. With 152 hp and 125 Nm at the ready, backed up by Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes, it’s a damn near perfect hooligan machine.

Visually, it’s also surprisingly true to Miguel Galluzzi‘s original M900, even though the line is 25 years old this year. And just like the original Monster, it responds well to mild tweaking. A little Rizoma here, a little Termignoni there, and hey presto, you’ve got a really special machine on your hands.

But what happens when you leave it in the hands of a young, motivated and innovative crew of custom builders? If the crew in question is Munich’s Diamond Atelier, good things happen.

They’ve thrown a tasteful selection of trick bits at this 2017-model Monster, mixed in a few one-off touches that push it over the edge, and wrapped the frame in gold. A brave move.

The commission came from an existing Diamond Atelier customer in Frankfurt. He’d given the guys free rein on a previous build, and was so chuffed that he was willing to do it again.

“There was basically no brief,” Diamond’s Tom Konecny tells us. “Only a wish to make a great bike even better. That’s what we tried to achieve.”

There’s a lot on the 1200 R that looks exceptionally good out the box. So Diamond kept the iconic Monster tank, and parts like the front fender and headlight. But the entire tail section went in the bin, pronto.

In its place is a custom-made tailpiece, designed using CAD software before being 3D printed. A hand-stitched cowhide leather seat sits on top of it, and the whole arrangement is perched on a custom-built subframe.

Of course, reworking the rear end meant a whole lot of wiring components suddenly had nowhere to go, so Diamond had to relocate them. “But that was actually quite easy, compared to other bikes we’ve dealt with,” says Tom.

At the pointy end of the Ducati, Diamond have fitted a custom top triple clamp, along with a set of CNC’d clip-ons from Gilles Tooling. They’ve trimmed the headlight cover to accommodate them, and sunk in a set of Motogadget turn signals.

Out back, a set of discreet LEDs doubles up as turn signals and taillights. They’re supplemented by Rizoma goodies, namely the CNC-machined clutch and brake reservoirs, rear license plate holder and engine covers.

The rearsets are from Ducabike, the levers are Ducati Performance parts, and the exhaust can is a Remus slip-on.

The rework has given the Monster an even more aggressive and compact stance than before. But it’s the paint scheme that really sets it off. Diamond have cleverly redone select bits in olive green, then added not only gold leaf striping—but also a layer of 24K gold to the frame.

“One of our employees—Korbinian—is a trainee gilder who was practicing his art before joining the Diamond team,” Tom tells us. “And since a little bling-bling never hurt anyone, we were happy to test his skills on the Monster frame.”

Tom mentions that the Monster 1200 R is pretty rare in Germany, which should make this gem even more rare. And the Diamond boys plan to keep it that way. When we heard the tailpiece was 3D printed, we automatically assumed they were planning a limited production run of Monsters (like they’ve done with their Mark 2 series).

“No, this is a classic ‘DA#’ build,” Tom replies, “so it’ll stay absolutely unique, with no similar bikes planned. We are happy to take commissions on similar Ducatis though, as we have a ton of ideas which popped into our heads while we were building this.”

If we had a 1200 R in the Bike EXIF garage right now, it would already be in a crate and en route to Germany.

Diamond Atelier | Instagram | Facebook | Photos by Lukas Magerl

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Final 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Assembled

The last 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has rolled off the line at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. The powerful muscle car is headed for an upfit center where the final stages of production will commence, which includes a hand-painted and exclusive Viper Red exterior color, the addition of 18-inch special drag radial tires, and a one-of-a-kind VIN number instrument panel.

This final Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and the last 2017 Dodge Viper will be auctioned as a pair as part of The Ultimate Last Chance program, with all proceeds benefiting the United Way.

The last 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. Photo: FCA US LLC.

Powerful Pair

The winning bidder at the June 20th-23rd Barrett-Jackson Northeast Auction, held at the Mohegan Sun Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut, will own a combined 1,485 horsepower: the 840 horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and the 645 horsepower Dodge Viper with an 8.4-liter V10. Viper production concluded at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit last summer, although rumors are swirling about the Viper’s return.

The last production 2017 Dodge Viper is styled in homage to the first-generation Viper RT/10. The car (VIN ending in 731948) features exterior carbon fiber accents, black Alcantara leather seats, and a special authenticity kit.

While the Viper had a 25-year run, production of the Challenger SRT Demon was limited to just one year and 3,300 units.

The Automoblog Staff contributed to this report and can be reached anytime.

Photos & Source: FCA US LLC.

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2018 Indy 500 Notebook: Part 6: On The Fly – Everything That Matters

Tony Borroz opens up what has been dubbed “The 2018 Indy 500 Notebook” for an unedited look at The Greatest Spectacle In Racing. This new series will span the days leading up to and after the 102nd Indianapolis 500. The 2018 Indy 500 Notebook is an unfiltered look and what makes the Indy 500 so alluring in the first place. 

The prologue can be found here.

Part 2: “Hey Hinchcliffe, Wanna Race? Then Go Faster!” here.

Part 3: “Carb Day” here.

Part 4: “By This Time Tomorrow” here.

Part 5: “On The Fly – Before The Green Flag” here.

Before the drivers get to their cars and fire up their engines, Tony Kanaan echoes my initial observation: the high ambient and track temperatures, plus a new car, means things are going to be slippery out there. The vast bulk of people participating in The Indy 500 these days are seasoned professionals. They are not going to just wing it, dive into the deep end and “see how things” go. There is too much on the line, financially, professionally, and personally for any of these people to just give it a try and trust it to luck.

As they line up to take the green after the pace laps, things look very scruffy. The cars are not all three-by-three-by-three. Only a couple of rows are lined up right and the start is pretty ragged. That said, it is a completely clean start. There are no accidents. No one spins. Nobody does anything stupid.

Calm & Collected

In a lot of ways, the start of the 102nd running of The Indy 500 was rather uneventful except for the fact that Kanaan is up to 7th in one lap, making up three positions while everyone else is cautiously biding their time. And so the first quarter of the race unfolds in a rather processional way. Everyone is feeling out the track, their tires, the amounts of grip (aero and mechanical), and the amount of turbulence and buffeting generated by the cars in front.

At first, for ten laps or so, I was surprised. But it started to make sense. I can almost hear the voice of Roger Penske in my head: “Don’t do anything stupid.” Even on a good day, the difference between doing it Right and doing it Wrong when lapping at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is very slight, a matter of inches. Today, everything is stacked against the drivers. Every little bit added into the equation – the heat, the new aero, all of it – is a strike against the drivers. So everyone is out there, going as fast as they can without stepping over the limit. Biding their time. Being patient, like a hunter, waiting for the game, or in this case, the race, to come to you.

Ryan Hunter-Reay leaves his pit stall during the 102nd Indianapolis 500. Photo: Karl Zemlin.

Domino Effect

Then on lap 47 James Davison slows and collects Takuma Sato, last year’s champion. A collective groan goes up from the stands. People genuinely like Taku, and seeing him get taken out early does not go over well. Davison, a well liked Australian, was having trouble for some laps, struggling to get up to, and sustain, a decent speed. It seems he was slowing down to pick his way through traffic and come back into the pits yet again when Sato ran over him. Afterwards, Sato took it all with a shrug that silently voiced the eternal sentiment “that’s racing” and Davison seemed honestly upset that his mechanical troubles took out another competitor.

On lap 59 Ed Jones crashes out of the 24th spot. The rear of the Ganassi driver’s car stepped out real quick. Initially it seemed as if something broke, but, as following events would show, Jones’ crash was the emblematic first of many, setting the pattern.

On lap 68 Danica is out. She spins to the outside of Turn 4, spirals down into the infield before pit in, gets out of the car under own power, and with that, the racing career of Danica Sue Patrick is over. The notes I jotted down read: “Danica out, Danica out” and “spin is very similar to Ed Jones.” The various replays show she just lost it.

Danica Patrick. Photo: IMS LLC.

Crash Course

Then the Jones/Patrick syndrome continues when, on lap 140, Sébastien Bourdais loses it. At first I thought he had gotten caught up in someone’s dirty air, Dixon maybe, got a little bit lose, caught it, but caught it too hard, corrected, over-corrected, over-corrected that and then lost it entirely. In the airplane game, this is known as PIO, Pilot Induced Oscillations, and is usually impossible to get yourself out of.

On lap 146 we can add Helio to the Jones/Patrick/Bourdais list. While running fifth and going like a scalded cat, the extremely likable Brazilian spins on his own coming through Four. “The rear just gave up,” he said with a shrug, and that was that for Helio trying to win his fourth Indy 500 . . . and now it’s becoming apparent that getting win #4 is somewhat of an obsession for him. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the years ahead.

Eight laps later, completing lap 154, Sage Karam gets high in Turn Four, gets into the gray (i.e. out of the rubbered-in groove), gets into the marbles (i.e. where all the debris and rolled up rubber gets shuffled to the outside of a corner), finds the wall hard enough to collapse the right side suspension front and rear, and grinds along the outside wall to a stop. So far, this is the only single car accident that deviates from the Jones/Patrick/Bourdais/Helio norm.

Alexander Rossi negotiates Turn 1 during practice for the 102nd Indianapolis 500. Photo: Chris Owens.

Dialed In

And now, finally, with less than 50 laps left to run, everyone is getting racier and racier, Alexander Rossi first among them. The quiet Italian-American has been driving a great race, steadily moving up through the field after a catastrophic qualifying session. Rossi is hooked up, to use the phrase, to the point of having tons of grip and he can drive the car anywhere he cares to on the track; high, low, late dives, it’s all the same to Rossi. At one point Rossi passes a car deep on the outside of a corner, then takes it three-wide and simultaneously passes two cars on the outside. It’s the bravest two moves of the race, and suddenly, in terms of sheer pace, Rossi looks like he is going to show everyone who the fastest is.

As if via telepathy, every other driver in the field and their pit crews kick into high gear. Okay, now we’re going to go racing. The speeds tick up, the times start to drop, corner after corner, lap after lap, and the passing maneuvers get closer and closer and closer. A fine red mist descends. Speed is all that matters now, victory its definitive byproduct.

On lap 188 the last of the solo crashes occurs when Tony Kanaan, a racer noted for his commitment and bravery, spins and crashes out. The affable Brazilian wiggles coming out of Turn 2, catches it, loses it, and that was that, Indy 500 over for this year.

Tony Kanaan. Photo: IMS LLC.

Mad Dash

Now the checkered flag is so close everyone can almost taste it. Oriol Servià stays out while leading, trying to stretch his fuel to the end and win the whole thing on a roll of the dice. In terms of speed, it seems to be a three car battle between Will Power, driving for Penske, Ed Carpenter, driving for himself, and Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon (how did he get up here? Oh right, he’s Scott Dixon) and Rossi.

With a handful of laps to go, Servià and Charlie Kimball peel off for the pits, their fuel gamble not paying off and the hot shoes stand on it like there’s no tomorrow. Nobody, however, stands on it as hard as Will Power and the introverted former series champion drives to his first ever Indy 500 win. Suddenly, this all seems quite fitting. He was fast all month long, won the GP race on the road course, and now has capped it all off with a 500 win. It is, in retrospect, easy to call this a flawlessly executed race from the Penske driver; he stayed out of trouble, bided his time and when he had to, he just flat out left everyone in his dust.

As his car pulls into Victory Circle, the joy and surprise from Power in the cockpit is palpable through the TV screen. Power seems to be on the edge of losing control, venting every emotion he seems capable of carrying, screaming and roaring, fists clenched and waving, manically looking left then right then left again. Finally his wife, Elizabeth Cannon, appears out of nowhere, and Power’s ego and super-ego finally tamp down his id. A little.

Power embraces his wife Liz after winning the 102nd Indianapolis 500. Photo: IMS LLC.

Missing Pieces

He snatches the traditional bottle of milk away from the person holding it, looks skyward, opens his mouth and pours the entire bottle’s contents out. Only a small amount makes it into his gaping mouth, and as the rest of the ice cold milk hits his face, Power instinctively reacts by shaking his head back and forth violently, showering the remainder of the milk all over the face of the pageant winning Indy Queen.

Simon Pagenaud shows up out of nowhere and hugs Power. Pagenaud, about as competitive as the come, is genuinely happy for Power, and another puzzle piece falls into place for me. Power now, by visible steps, starts to calm down in Victory Circle. A pit reporter shoves a mic in front of him. Will talks about his doubts of ever winning the 500, about how, after a literal decade of trying, he has finally won it.

And that’s the last piece. That’s what has been missing from Will Powers’ internal resume.

All of this, the screaming, yelling, venting, going berserk with the milk, these are all symptoms of relief as much as joy. For all of Will Powers’ accomplishments – multiple race winner, rookie of the year, series champion – he is still riddled with self doubt. That is a very, very rare state of mind for a race driver. If anything, these knuckleheads usually display far too much self confidence. Will Power has felt that lacking an Indy 500 win was a serious black mark on his career. He felt, in so many words, that if he never won at Indy, he wouldn’t measure up.

I know, it makes no sense to me either. Ever since he showed up in 2005 he was Fast with a capitol “F.” Will Power not measure up? Are you nuts? He’s fast, cool under fire, and has a rather typical amount of hyper-competitiveness for a racer. Not measure up? That’s just stupid.

Will Power in disbelief after winning the 102nd Indianapolis 500. Photo: Karl Zemlin.

Lasting Hallmark

The final shot that matters is a replay of The Captain, Roger Penske, watching his driver cross the line and take the checker to notch up victory number 17 for Team Penske. When they go to the shot of Roger, standing on the pit wall, arms raised halfway, Power was about 150 yards from the finish line. He had enough of a lead and enough momentum that even if all four wheels fell off, he still would have won. But there stands Roger, the winningest guy in Indy 500 history, waiting . . . waiting . . . starts to raise his arms, nope . . . wait a little more . . . start to wave? nope, not there yet . . . waiting . . . and . . . and HE’S ACROSS THE LINE!!! Now Roger Penske starts waving and smiling and jumping around, full of joy and elation and a job done better than anyone else for the 17th time.

In an odd way, everyone else seemed just as happy. It was if the unspoken summary was, “Oh, Will Power finally won? Well good for him! It’s about time.” Maybe Will can finally internalize this last piece that has been missing for him. Maybe now he can, in some deeper way, relax. Relax and realize that he has nothing to prove, to anyone, least of all himself.

Part seven of the 2018 Indy 500 Notebook is forthcoming. 

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. His forthcoming new book The Future In Front of Me, The Past Behind Me will be available soon. Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz.

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Ghost Dog: A BMW R nineT with Samurai style

After three years and several cracking custom builds, the Rotterdam-based duo behind Smokin’ Motorcycles are parting ways.

That sounds like bad news, but it’s not. Rob van der Heijden and Maarten Timmer aren’t downing tools for good, they’re just not working under the same banner any more.

A great partnership deserves an epic send-off. So here’s the last official Smokin’ Motorcycles build: a brawny BMW called ‘Ghost Dog.’ It’s based on the stunningly popular R nineT, which has helped BMW increase its motorcycle sales for seven years in a year.

Cinephiles will recognize the name Ghost Dog: it’s a nod to Jim Jarmusch’s 1999 crime flick, starring Forest Whitaker as a hitman who follows the ancient code of the Samurai.

It’s a bizarre connection for a motorcycle, but it’s also the favorite movie of the owner of this nineT. So Rob and Maarten were compelled to draw inspiration from it.

It was clear from the get-go that the modern Beemer needed a brutal and muscular stance. So Smokin’ started by swapping out the tank for a custom-made unit.

The design started as a sketch, and then became a 3D CAD render. Based off that, Marcel van der Stelt at Custom Factory then produced a one-off aluminum tank.

The team cleaned up the tail end of the bike next, by ditching the nineT’s removable passenger support subframe. The cast aluminum side pieces that normally sit under the seat at the tank junction are gone, replaced by a tidier set of black CNC milled ones.

It’s created a much cleaner line from tank to tail. Up top is a custom-made saddle, designed to strike a balance between comfort and cafe racer style. Tijger Leathers handled the upholstery, finishing it with a combo of suede and leather with a Smokin’ logo stitched into it.

The BMW’s right-side air duct was ditched too, in favour of a carbon fiber arrangement. Smokin’ also modded the intake to accept a K&N filter up front, for a more aggressive vibe. There’s a carbon throttle valve housing cover on the left side to match things up.

There’s a host of small details tying everything together. The cockpit features a cleaned up top yoke, clip-ons, and a slim Motogadget speedo. The footpegs, license plate holder, fluid reservoir covers and turn signals are all from the Rizoma catalog.

And then there’s that beefy exhaust system. Out back are two Spark MotoGP mufflers, connected via a custom-designed manifold. RvD Exhausts painstakingly put the system together, and the guys tell us it sounds “deep and warm.”

When it came to final finishes, Smokin’ turned to Lisa Ottevanger of Dutch on Wheels for some Japanese-inspired graphics. She laid them down over a crystal pearl white metallic, shot by their painter of choice, Lars. When all was said and done, Lars wrapped it in six layers of crystal clear coat.

That sort of consideration is everywhere—like on the front forks, which were stripped, refinished in black and built up again. Little bits like the cylinder head guards, fender brackets and CNC machined exhaust brackets all got the black anodized treatment.

It’s a custom R nineT with the perfect stance and lines, and not an aesthetic hair out of place. It’s an appropriate send-off for this Dutch outfit, and it has us itching to see what Rob and Maarten get up to individually.

If you’re as curious as we are, keep Robbies Motorcycles and Timmer Motorcycles firmly on your radar. We’ll be watching too.

Smokin’ Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Mark Meisner

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Letter From The UK: End of Days?

Are We Witnessing The Automotive End Of Days?

As someone whose youth, fancy-free love life, musical taste, and motoring education is steeped in the bygone days of the 20^th Century, I feel totally confident in my assertion, made not for the first time, that the Golden Age of Motoring is long gone. We shall not see its like again. It has also made me rethink my vehicle road-testing for the future.

Rules & Exceptions

It is not one single thing that has brought me to this pass, no; it is my recent experience of the latest cars and automotive advertising that I have had to endure. Most of the cars I have driven of late here in the blighted, benighted British Isles, have been perfectly fine in terms of build quality and the like but otherwise just so dull, dull, dull. To be balanced, I am currently driving the Peugeot 5008 which is attractive, versatile, and a decent drive (sorry, you can’t have it. The French brand is not returning to American shores for some time yet, if at all) and I like it a lot, but it is the exception that proves the rule.

Cars have become boring. Fact.

Peugeot 5008. Photo: DriveWrite Automotive.

Autonomous Cars. Not.

Like a lusty salmon determined to spawn up-river, I realise I am hardly going with the flow here but, as yet, there are no such things as autonomous cars. The general media always get a bit carried away in a sort of “The future is now!!” manner, but the plain fact is that the current technology is simply super-glorified cruise control. Ask the British public if they are looking forward to ‘driverless’ cars and they will tell you “meh.”

Ask the European motor industry or the government however, for whom any bandwagon is the ideal way to hide all the bad news, and anyone would think that these do-it-all cars are just around the corner; they are not. Certainly all the technologies will work side by side for now but the real deal is many years away. Yet such is the furore being whipped up that it is my contention that car makers have misread the public’s collective mind.

A recent study from CARiD uncovered some confusion as to what an autonomous car actually is. Less than half of the respondents correctly identified it as something controlled entirely by automated technology. A recent AAA study found that 73 percent of American drivers say they would be too afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle, up from 63 percent in late 2017. Photo: Photo: Hyundai Motor America.

Youth of Today

With millennials and younger generations more interested in the latest technology rather than transportation, the future of the car industry, to me, looks to be built on shifting sands. As someone who has driven spectacular cars on open roads and race circuits, I find the latest trend for cosying up to the youth of today is not thought through. The latest crop of TV advertising is looking increasingly silly and juvenile and tells viewers absolutely nothing at all about the cars.

Of course, car bosses aren’t stupid. Those brands that are quick thinking and not afraid to reinvent themselves will survive but I contend that many will not. Start-ups like Tesla are exploiting buyers’ imaginations. Clever companies like Uber and ride-sharing operators like Lyft and HyreCar are demonstrating that car ownership is no longer a necessity if a ride is just an app click away.

Uber passengers share a ride in India. Photo: Uber

Somber & Gray

The reason so many cars are boring now is because they are about the lifestyle technology stuffed into them and not about engineering. Essentially they’re all the same under the skin. For grizzled old veteran curmudgeons like me it is the dawn of the beginning of the demise of motor cars as we know them. Thus I feel I will be testing fewer and fewer cars in the coming short term. I’m going to be picky and choose only those vehicles I believe have that extra something but I won’t be holding my breath.

Automotive end of days indeed.

Geoff Maxted is a motoring writer, photographer, and author of our Letter From The UK series. Follow his work on Twitter: @DriveWrite

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2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Gets New Suspension & Upgraded Tech

It is foolish to mess with a proven formula. When Ford bolted on a twin-turbocharged, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 to the second-generation Raptor, hardcore off-roaders were dismayed.

But when critics found out the motor churns out 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft. of torque, the new Raptor was welcomed with open arms. The new power plant produced 40 more horsepower and more torque than the heavier 6.2-liter V8.

Change is inevitable. In this case, the changes were for the better.

For 2019, Ford is upping the ante once again by giving the 2019 F-150 Raptor an all-new adaptive suspension along with a host of comfort features and clever tech.

Shock & Awe

Further cementing its status as the ultimate high-performance off-road truck, the 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor is equipped with electronically-controlled Fox 3.0 Internal Bypass shocks with LIVE Valve Technology. The 2019 Raptor also comes with a new Trail Control System, which is cruise control designed for low-speed and rugged terrain.

“Raptor’s success is rooted in its incredible suspension, superb vehicle control, and the confidence the truck instills in its owners,” said Hermann Salenbauch, Global Director, Ford Performance Vehicle Programs. “Upgrades to the 2019 F-150 Raptor have improved all three to new levels that the competition will have to benchmark – again.”

Ford worked closely with Fox to further hone the existing internal bypass shock absorbers. The result is an electronically-controlled Live Valve Technology that continuously adjusts damping in real-time. The system utilizes sensors in the suspension and body to maximize comfort, all-terrain handling, and bottom-out resistance.

“By automatically varying compression rates, Raptor can now make the most of its suspension travel of 13 inches at the front and 13.9 inches at the rear,” Salenbauch said.

2019 Ford F-150 Raptor with Fox 3.0 Internal Bypass shocks with Live Valve technology. Photo: Ford Motor Company.

Hang Time

Have you ever heard of a suspension that automatically adjusts the damper settings when the vehicle is in midair?

“The 2019 Raptor is not just more capable off-road. It’s smarter,” Salenbauch continued. “Not many trucks need sensors to detect when you are midair. Raptor sets the dampers to full stiffness to help smooth shock performance as the truck lands.”

This may sound a bit silly, but the current F-150 Raptor is one of the most refined vehicles you can buy today. The upgraded Fox Live Valve suspension enables the Raptor to achieve new heights in all-terrain versatility and performance. When paired with the Raptor’s Terrain Management System, the Live Valve Suspension Technology will confidently traverse even the most unforgiving terrain at high-speed, while still retaining a smooth on-road performance.

Photo: Ford Motor Company.

Off-Road Cruise Control

The 2019 F-150 Raptor is also equipped with a new Trail Control system. It can automatically adjust and send power and braking force to each individual wheel. The system can be activated at speeds from 1 mph up to 20 mph depending on the driveline position.

Trail Control can feed engine torque to the driving wheels so you can easily climb over steep obstacles. The system can also brake each wheel individually, so the Raptor comes down smoothly on the other side of whatever you are climbing. It is a fool-proof system that allows you to focus on steering over rugged terrain.

Photo: Ford Motor Company.

Hold Me Tight

Also new for the 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor are Recaro sport seats. The seats are designed to offer aggressive support and substantial bolstering to smoothen those nasty kidney shots over rugged, uneven terrain. Available seat designs include blue Alcantara inserts and accent stitching inspired by the interior of the bonkers Ford GT supercar.

Pricing & Availability

The 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor is all yours by late 2018, and comes in three new colors: Ford Performance Blue, Velocity Blue, and Agate Black.

The upgraded 2019 F-150 Raptor will be built at the Dearborn Truck Plant. Ford has not disclosed pricing at this time.

Alvin Reyes is the Associate Editor of Automoblog. He studied civil aviation, aeronautics, and accountancy in his younger years and is still very much smitten to his former Lancer GSR and Galant SS. He also likes fried chicken, music, and herbal medicine. 

2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Gallery

Photos & Source: Ford Motor Company.

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