FH3 Hot Wheels: PRIME Day

It's Prime Day and what better way to honor such a day of whatever that means to online shoppers than taking a spin round Hot Wheels Thrilltopia with some of the feral machines known to many, those that rev themselves to the prime meridian of their lives and whether if its against the likes of a HALO jumper, a mid-engined sportscar, or just for the fun of it, these prime specimens are all about business and leisure without compromise.







These are the prime specimens in question; the original Ford F-150 SVT Raptor with its 6.2L V8 engine, the 250HP Renaultsport Megane which is questionably the last three-door Renaultsport Megane in history as its replacement will be available as a five-door only, and the track-only finale of the legendary Pagani Zonda, the Zonda R.

Those three machines are humming to the sounds of the prime and despite being different in every tangible way, they are always in sync to the prime of their lives as they are proud to do whatever they want. The Raptor, for instance, once raced a HALO jumper and lost, the Megane once raced a mid-engined German roadster and lost, and the Zonda R, well, it tries to impress the driver with everything at its disposal. No matter the situation, the song of prime is what kept these machines alive for the prime of their lives as they enjoy their most insane races of their lives.

Since this is Prime Day, the Raptor, the Megane, and the Zonda are ready for their most insane race of their lives once more but first...







These prime specimens have been given improvements to survive Hot Wheels Thrilltopia. The Zonda R has became an inch replica of the Zonda Revolucion. The F-150 SVT Raptor became the Velociraptor by Hennessey. And the Megane RS250 became the Megane RS N4. The Revolucion replica is my idea while the Velociraptor and the Megane N4 are borrowed from a well-known expert in replicas. Guess I should give them credit after this. Anyway, with all set, these heavy beasts are ready for the prime of their lives as they are facing against a jurassic menace lying beneath the Hot Wheels tracks like bats out of hell.



This is exactly why they called PRIME Day because these prime specimens enjoyed the most insane races of their lives and even though their races are very dangerous, they feel like it should be like this all day. How's that for an epic soundtrack? From Arizona to Rockingham, this is business and leisure without compromise. This is PRIME and they are all made for their most insane moments in the prime of their lives.

Speaking of which, the Hot Wheels Goliath Circuit event's opened for business and looks like we'll end this note right here as I'm going to prepare the most insane race in my life right here in Thrilltopia. Until then, the journey continues...

Forza Horizon 3: Everybody's Gone to the Raptor

Hold it right there. You might think I might forgot one of the star cars of Forza Horizon 3, am I right? As you may now, aside from the Lamborghini Centenario, the all-new Ford F-150 Raptor is one of the cars featured in the cover of Forza Horizon 3 and for a second there, I thought I might not drive it but here I am, driving one now to see what's like.



You may have been familiar with the brand new F-150 Raptor pickup truck but for those who want to know the extreme offroad version of America's best-selling pickup truck, the new F-150 Raptor is powered by a 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine that produces more power and better fuel economy versus the old Raptor's V8 engine while mated to Ford's first-ever 10-speed automatic gearbox. Also, the new F-150 Raptor, like the normal F-150, takes advantage of advanced materials such as high-strength steel and high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy, allows this truck to lose 500 pounds of weight compared to the old Raptor.

To make sure the new Raptor is capable ot take on the most unforgiving road conditions on the face of the planet, it's been given with the available Torsen front differential, standard FOX Racing Shox with custom internal bypass technology that works to damp and stiffen suspension travel over rough terrain, and new shock canisters. It even comes with the all new Terrain Management System with six preset modes help the truck power through different terrain and driving conditions.

You might be asking that there's something different with this Raptor I'm driving but seen here is the Race Truck version of the said model. It was made to take on the 2016 Best in the Desert off-road racing series' factory stock class and because it is stock class, it carries the same specs as the base F-150 Raptor, meaning it still as unstoppable as the normal F-150 Raptor, but to test this theory, let's take a stroll to a construction yard against some of the heavyweights in the motoring industry and see if this pickup truck lives up to its promise as a no-holds barred offroader.

Wow, no wonder it was built tough as every Ford truck should be but it's not over yet because you might think that I had enough with the Raptor, I had something special just for you. It took me moments to prepare this Raptor just for but here it is...







Surprised? It's a special F-150 Raptor I made featuring all of the Aqours heroes from Chika to Mari. True to the theme of having the best routes ever experienced in the Land Down Under, nothing's more shiny than making this theme for the Raptor and while some might call it a blasphemy because I kinda messed up this all-American pickup truck with something Japanese-y, it feels like I made a perfect vacation getaway vehicle that will get me through the ocean roads, urban metropolis, lush Aussie jungles, and the outback like summer's on me. This is the ideal thing to do with one of the star cars of Forza Horizon 3 and it's time to take a Step Zero to One with one of the stars of Horizon Australia, which is none other than the Ford F-150 Raptor.



Not the best I have done with the Raptor but it's the best show this offroader can offer to show the whole crowd how it's made and knowing about this truck is just half the story because even though the all-new F-150 Raptor shows how capable this truck is in such driving conditions in the land down under, its never-ending adventure to show its true strengths as the most capable offroad truck in the face of the planet continues and I'm looking forward to see what's next for the ultimate F-150. Now this is what you called a Step Zero to One.

Forza Motorsport 6: Raptor's Delight

The next-generation Ford F-150 Raptor, much like the new Ford GT and the Shelby GT350, made its early video game debut at Forza Motorsport 6 since its launch and I was one of the happy people to get a first bite out of Ford's next-gen extreme offroader before this car reaches dealerships in the Autumn of 2016.



Before taking a spin on the next-generation F-150 Raptor, let's have a quick intro. Making its world premiere at the 2015 North American International Auto Show, the next-generation Ford F-150 Raptor is the result of Ford Performance's superior off-road capability, from rock crawling to sand running.

Based on the 13th-generation Ford F-Series trucks, the new F-150 Raptor, like the normal F-150, takes advantage of advanced materials such as high-strength steel and high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy, allows this truck to lose 500 pounds of weight compared to the old Raptor.

The new F-150 Raptor is powered by Ford's brand new 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine that produces more power and better fuel economy versus the old Raptor's V8 engine. This engine is mated with Ford's first-ever 10-speed automatic gearbox.

It is now the most capable Raptor ever made thanks to its available Torsen front differential, standard FOX Racing Shox with custom internal bypass technology that works to damp and stiffen suspension travel over rough terrain, and new shock canisters. It even comes with the all new Terrain Management System with six preset modes help the truck power through different terrain and driving conditions.



Sure, the new Raptor is an extreme offroader in its own right but here in the world of Forza Motorsport 6, it sounds too pointless because this is basically a racing game where all good cars race on tracks. Despite being too pointless here, I can hardly feel just how improved the new Raptor is aside from its miniaturized engine that delivers more than the old one but its military-grade aluminum bodywork shows just how light and durable this car is. Even though this is a major improvement than the previous model, handle with care because this is still a heavyweight juggernaut and you have to be very alert and very precise to handle even the slightest of corners.

Because this is the first truck in the world to offer a double-digit gearbox, you can really feel that ten gears in a truck is far too bulky on the shifting ratio but what are the odds? You never know until you try.



This car loves to get messy in the rough but in FM6, playing rough is not a necessity here or could it be? Because this is an all-new model, let's find out how much the new model has improved over the previous one and for that, I have to go to the Top Gear Test Track and find out.



This is going to be a fun science experiment because this is where I find proof if the all-new F-150 Raptor stacks up against the old F-150 SVT Raptor. Let's find out!


After sending these heavyweights their big run on the Top Gear Track, the results are in. The old Raptor did it in 1:41.106 while the new Raptor did it in 1:37.835, about four seconds quicker than the old one. Which means, even this truck doesn't have a spot to play rough in FM6, the new Raptor, thanks to its EcoBoost V6 engine, aluminum bodywork, enhanced dynamics, and a hunky 10-speed gearbox, this hunk of junk is no longer a hunk of junk. It's now...just a hunk. A hunk that can get through even the toughest jobs in the world of Forza.

"Purely Redneck" about the Raptor

We witnessed the Ford SVT Raptor at some episode of Top Gear USA (in Hennessey Velociraptor guise) where Tanner Foust challenges against a HALO Jumper and the Velociraptor lost. At the hands of The Stig's American cousin, it set a lap time of 1 minute and 39 seconds. It was close but we no matter what, the Raptor's one bad pickup for the road hogs. Tanner Foust said that there's something "purely redneck" about the Raptor's sound.

Tiff Needell's Renaultsport Megane
vs. Tanner Foust's VelociRaptor

With the Raptor included on Forza Motorsport 4 via the December IGN Pack, players can personalize the Raptor with a host of tuning parts, enhancements at the exterior to make it more look like the Raptor used at the Baja 1000 race, and best of all, set a Top Gear Power Lap Time. This is what makes this truck a bad-ass!

The Stig's American cousin already tried it,
but can The Stig tame this?

Hey, you know what, this what happens when the McLaren MP4-12C, Pagani Zonda R, Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, and the Renaultsport Megane are all playing the same music. The music where you heard it from a part where Tanner Foust races against the HALO jumper, Tiff Needell tries out the Zonda R at some kind of boring version of Top Gear called F*fth Gear, highlighting the McLaren MP4-12C's progress at the Nurburgring, and when Tiff Needell drives the RenaultSport Megane against a boxer sports car driven by Vicki Butler-Henderson at Rockingham.

Because most people trying to recreate the Hennessey Velociraptor, it is possible to reach this Raptor to "Velociraptor" levels just by swapping the engine into a Shelby GT500 engine and max out as far as you can. All it needs now are some DIY of the Velociraptor decals that you can paste it at the side of the Raptor.

So, can I hug it? Yes but that's a little scary and creepy...

Dubai Version Raptor - 6 doors!

Now that's insane! Dubai Version Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gets six doors! I don't know who's responsible with this insane modification but this is one heck of a Raptor we're dreaming to see. Because this is Dubai Version, we can only see this kind on United Arab Emirates (UAE).

I'm impressed....

Scoop: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/02/ford-svt-raptor-with-six-doors-only-in-the-uae/