MagicMtnDan
FRF Addict
We've all read about the Raptor SVT test route that Ford set up for their testing and the early runs they gave to the editors of the magazines and online journals:
Above from: http://jalopnik.com/5343872/2010-ford-f+150-svt-raptor-first-drive
Above from: http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/review/ride-impression-ford-f150-svt-raptor-23717.html
We knew Ford tested the Raptors in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park but it's a big place. Until tonight, when I found the following references to the test route, I never knew quite where Ford tested and ran the Raptors. We've been to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park numerous times and I've always suspected that we've driven on some/all of the trails and areas they ran on but I wasn't sure. Now I know we've been on them without realizing it.
So, here's the route:
Link to the above map and article:
http://jalopnik.com/5343872/2010-ford-f+150-svt-raptor-first-drive
Link to a map of the above area with some pics:
http://www.panoramio.com/map/?user=3576796#lt=33.165720&ln=-116.141968&z=4&k=0&a=1&tab=5
Now I need to compare the above maps to the maps of the area:
Link to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park map (pdf):
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/638/files/ABDSPmap.pdf
Google map of the area:
http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1T4...o+springs+map&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl
Ford's PR team carefully planned a jump free route for us to avoid the liability of inadvertently jostling the pacemakers of geriatric buff book hacks, but we managed to channel our inner hoon and find a good ramp regardless. We hit the four-foot high berm at 80 MPH and caught what felt like serious air, but even that failed to overcome the natural stability and the Raptor's ability to soak up anything thrown at it. It landed perfectly and carried on as if nothing had happened. Even sliding sideways into ruts and bumps near the limited top speed failed to provoke any roll or any sign at all that we could do anything to upset the Raptor.
Above from: http://jalopnik.com/5343872/2010-ford-f+150-svt-raptor-first-drive
The next morning we woke up early to head out to the desert for what we came for – off-road testing of the Raptor. While developing the Raptor, the SVT testing team (consisting largely of the engineers that helped build the vehicle) set up a roughly 66-mile course to punish each Raptor prototype. Every time they reached a new stage and another prototype vehicle was created, it had to survive 1000 miles on the 66-mile off-road course filled with whoops, sand washes, off-camber turns and constantly changing terrain. Fortunately for the journalists in attendance, we had the chance to charge around 22 miles of this course to test out the Raptor.
Above from: http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/review/ride-impression-ford-f150-svt-raptor-23717.html
We knew Ford tested the Raptors in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park but it's a big place. Until tonight, when I found the following references to the test route, I never knew quite where Ford tested and ran the Raptors. We've been to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park numerous times and I've always suspected that we've driven on some/all of the trails and areas they ran on but I wasn't sure. Now I know we've been on them without realizing it.
So, here's the route:
Link to the above map and article:
http://jalopnik.com/5343872/2010-ford-f+150-svt-raptor-first-drive
Link to a map of the above area with some pics:
http://www.panoramio.com/map/?user=3576796#lt=33.165720&ln=-116.141968&z=4&k=0&a=1&tab=5
Now I need to compare the above maps to the maps of the area:
Link to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park map (pdf):
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/638/files/ABDSPmap.pdf
Google map of the area:
http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1T4...o+springs+map&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl