The Ford F-150 Raptor Will Use Adaptive Dampers For Better Landings

The Ford F-150 Raptor isn’t exactly wanting for off-road capability. But, that hasn’t stopped the Blue Oval having a little fiddle with the hardcore pick-up for the 2018 model year.

The first big change is the shock absorbers. Developed by Fox, the new parts have something called ‘Live Valve’ technology that can alter the compression rates based on information gleaned from a variety of sensors on the vehicle.

The sensors can even tell if you’re airborne. Should you be pulling off some mad jump, the system will know, and set the dampers to maximum stiffness to best cope with the landing. Clever, no?

Next up, there’s the ‘Trail Control’ system. Like Land Rover’s All-Surface Progress Control, it’s best though of as an off-roading cruise control. You simply set the speed, and the vehicle will take care of the throttle and brake pedal to best traverse whatever kind of horrid terrain you’ve put in front of it. It’s even able to brake individual wheels for the smoothest hill descent possible.

The 2019 Raptor has also been given new Recaro sports seats (they offer “aggressive support”, apparently…) and several new colour options including Velocity Blue and Agate Black.

The upgraded Raptor will go on sale late 2018.