They say that if you can't be the best, be first, and that's the route that PaxPower seemed to take with their Ford Raptor V8 swaps, as Hennessey Performance stole the limelight there.
To be fair, we're not sure if Hennessey's swap is any better than PaxPower's but if John's reputation is anything to go by, we think we'd be giving our F-150 to the latter.
Despite the popularity figures, PaxPower has assured potential customers that their conversion is the most sought after V8 Raptor conversion, and with the supercharged lump pumping out 565kW, we can see why.
This particular F-150 started out as a standard 2019 Platinum, but has since undergone the full conversion with includes the engine, drive train, and body panel replacements.
Using mostly factory Ford parts to keep costs down, only the fenders and tray sides are sourced from the aftermarket. These fenders measure 76mm wider than standard Raptor fenders, and are available in fiberglass or carbon fibre.
To achieve the extremely black look that this F-150 sports, PaxPower started off by painting every single component of the ute gloss black. Each part is then wrapped in satin black vinyl to complete the look.
You'll also notice the aggressive aftermarket front and rear bumpers. These were sourced from Addictive Desert Designs and the lighting from Rigid and KC.
PaxPower claim that the suspension system on their truck puts the standard Raptor to shame as it contains numerous components that are usually found on off-road racing vehicles.
Powering all this American muscle is a 5.0-litre Ford V8 engine that has had a 2.9-litre Whipple supercharger slapped on top of it. This allows for a low power figure of 521kW, and a high one of 565kW.
As you can imagine, all this comes at quite a cost, $200,000 to be exact, but it makes Hennessey's $250,000 look cheap.
While all this American V8-ness is all well and good, we just can't wait until someone slaps a supercharged V8 in an NZ spec Ranger Raptor.
