Hammering across the rippled, hard-packed off-road trails of Johnson Valley California, northeast of Big Bear Lake, the 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R pickup truck scurries and scampers for traction. Its Fox live valve shocks and generous suspension travel, off-road driving mode, and 37-inch BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires make the most of it, as the truck’s supercharged V8 roars with an authoritative dominance.

As our speed approaches 100 mph, the Raptor R’s unloaded rear bed dances delightfully as we pound sand, remaining controllable even as it proves to be an off-road delight. Smiles come easily. So does refinement, as the ride is remarkable for a vehicle capable of jumping and bumping along Conestoga-era trails.

Even if you’re not a dumbbell denizen, a gym rat, or a creatine-swilling Alpha male, it transforms you into one, albeit temporarily, much like Cinderella or Snow White, but with Y chromosomes.

The 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R pickup is the ultimate desert rat, delivering fun and thrills commensurate with its size. The R is a key factor here. Opting for the $32,925 V-8 option replaces the Ford Raptor’s high-output 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged OHC EcoBoost V6 with a 5.2-liter supercharged OHC V8 and adds an R to the Raptor’s nameplate. Along with a number of tweaks, the difference is significant, boosting output from 450 horsepower to 720 ponies, and torque from 510 pound-feet to 640.

All that internal combustion is placed into America’s best-selling vehicle for 42 years and its best-selling truck for 47: the Ford F-150. Utilizing its SuperCrew crew-cab body, it comes with four full-size doors and a 5.5-foot-long bed. It's practical, with seating for five and 53 cubic-foot cargo volume, a 1,400-pound payload capacity, a 8,700-pound towing capability and a 13-inch ground clearance. While that’s not as much as other F-150s, it should do for most jobs. And when it’s done hauling people and stuff, it hauls ass, and how: 60 mph comes up in a little more than three-and-a-half seconds. Admittedly, battery-electric pickups are marginally quicker, but none supply the primal fury that comes from converting fossil fuel into forward momentum with the fierceness of the 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R. I am a pickup truck bro’; eat my dust.

But if its performance doesn’t proclaim its capability, its looks sure do.

Available in a new Shelter Green paint for 2024, the Raptor is also offered in blue, red, gray, black and white paint options that are offset with a healthy dose on body graphics and a grille spelling out the automaker’s name with a rectilinear mass that looks as if it were carved in stone. But it’s merely black plastic.

Inside, the F-150 Raptor R is familiar to those who’ve experience the latest F-150. It comes with a rather nice 12-inch digital gauge cluster and sizable 12-inch infotainment touchscreen running Ford’s easy-to-use Sync 4 software and boasting tuning and volume knobs. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard. An 18-speaker B&O sound system is optional. And while it boasts a fair bit of driver-assistance technology, it’s not offered with Blue Cruise, Ford’s autonomous driving system. That’s because this is truck for those who enjoy the act of driving.

And for those who can’t afford the $81,130 F-150 Raptor or $113,055 F-150 Raptor R, there’s the $66,440 F-150 Tremor, an off-road-oriented F-150 that has more than enough chops for the casual off-roader, but sans the outrageous graphics and bodywork.

Still, it’s hard to drive the F-150 Raptor R and not want one in the driveway. It’s a fabulous sports car for the world beyond blacktop.

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2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R

Base price: $113,055

Engine: 5.2-liter supercharged OHC V8

Horsepower/Torque: 720/640 pound-feet

EPA rating (combined city/highway): 12 mpg

Fuel required: Premium

Length/Width/Height: 233/87/81 inches

Ground clearance: 13 inches

Payload: 1,400 pounds

Cargo capacity: 53 cubic feet

Towing capacity: 8,700 pounds

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