My first introduction to the Ford Raptor was pretty memorable: I got in, shook hands with one of Ford’s official drivers, strapped in, and enjoyed a quick trip that involved running over a ton of parking lot concrete stops, a power slide or two, and a jump over a dirt mound. Granted, it was at SEMA and yeah, you should expect that kind of thing, but to bring out a few demo vehicles to absolutely abuse for five days just for people to see…that was both gutsy and impressive. So impressive, in fact, that I got back in line with a woman I had only met days prior and went again. And now I’m married to her, but that’s another story. The Raptor has been one of those rare vehicles to come out of the auto world. It really doesn’t make sense for mass-production, yet here it is, just because Ford felt like it. That’s always a good recipe, and Ford executed it well…if you ignore a few people who thought they bought a SCORE Stock Full-spec race truck and one very notable redneck.

The Raptor is getting a second generation, coming to play on the new F-150’s chassis, with the aluminum body. The snotty V8s have been ditched for a turbocharged V6, which Ford claims will walk the old 6.2L Boss engine, but there is still a lot to like, such as the trick suspension and the “bad mother” looks. Due out about a year from now, we’re seeing fully-bodied prototypes getting tested already, and Ford, still hot on their press releases and teasing, put out this video of a pre-production Raptor getting a sandy workout. Hopefully, when they are ready to show it off to the public, they do the same kind of show that they did for the first truck. Proving that it can’t be killed (even if you accidentally go nose-first into a Jersey barrier) is a great way to sell.