Pandem Widebody Ford Raptor Must Make Sense to Somebody
While its two generations of pavement-focused SVT Lightnings did okay in the high performance pickup market, Ford’s idea to switch to the off-road-centric Raptor (which is now on its own second generation) tapped into a market for which there was evidently a lot of pent-up demand. Why else would Chevrolet have developed a similarly hardcore Colorado ZR2? That makes Kei Miura’s decision to add a widebody kit for the Gen 2 Raptor to his Pandem line of products all the more puzzling.
Don’t get us wrong: The overall look of the kit fits the Pandem/Rocket Bunny aesthetic perfectly, what with all the exposed fasteners and close-fitting cutouts for the headlights, taillights, fuel flap and other items. There’s also a set of side steps and a wider front bumper with an air dam, which begs the question: Unless the stock Raptor suspension has been replaced with an air system with a huge height adjustment range, how can this truck possibly conquer the kind of rough terrain people expect it to, chunky tires or not? We suppose we’ll get an answer one way or the other when this truck makes its in-the-metal (and plastic) debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon this weekend.
Source: TRA-Kyoto