Seriously, Where Is The GM Ford Raptor Rival?
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Rumors are great and all, but sometimes they build hype without any payoff whatsoever. And we enthusiast types aren’t exactly all that patient, either. Which brings us to the topic at hand – in the name of the Baja 1000, trophy truck jumps, and the holy suspension travel, where in the hell is the GM Ford Raptor rival?
Frustration, you could say, is coming to a boil. Ford is selling a mountain of Raptors, laughing all the way to the bank as it rakes in piles of cash thanks to its highly profitable, high-performance pickup model. Off-roaders are insanely popular right now with the movement having not end in sight, and yet, there’s no GM Ford Raptor rival in sight.
Ford F-150 Raptor
It gets worse. Forget the money for a second, as the Ford F-150 Raptor is much more than a profit machine. The Raptor is also a huge halo car for the Blue Oval, illuminating the entirety of the F-150 line and the Ford brand in general thanks to its eyeball-grabbing style and impressive performance specs. The fact the F-150 Raptor exists at all makes folks want to own a Ford, and it enables Ford to be a part of that conversation. Yes, the halo effect is very much real.
And guess what – GM simply isn’t part of the conversation, full stop. No cash money rewards, no image boost, no nothing.
Which, of course, begs the question: where is the GM Ford Raptor rival? Heck, it’s now been a year since the all-new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and 2019 GMC Sierra have gone on sale, but there is still no Raptor fighter to speak of, not even in the rumor mill or as a developmental prototype.
2019 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 Trail Boss
Well, how about kitting-out the Chevrolet Silverado and/or the GMC Sierra? We’re waiting, GM.
And why not? The new-generation T1 platform Silverado and Sierra are the perfect opportunity to make a high-spec off-road performance pickup. Not only are they are lighter and more technologically-advanced, they’re also really good trucks that serve as a very solid base on which to build a true offroad pickup truck. If GM put in the effort, it could definitely turn these machines into some serious desert runners, while attracting attention and making a healthy profit on every one it makes.
Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison
Granted, we do have the Colorado ZR2, but it is not at all a rival to the 450-horsepower F-150 Raptor.
To make matter worse, this isn’t the first time we’ve written on this topic. Back in 2017, we asked the community if GM should make a hardcore offroad version of the as-of-then-up-and-coming fourth-gen Silverado. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of poll-takers answered in the affirmative. Then in 2018, we took a look at Ram’s plans to produce the Rebel TRX, all while GM, Chevy and GMC remained silent.
So what exactly is the flippin’ deal here? Where the hell is the GM Ford Raptor rival?
What do you think, dear reader? Should GM finally throw some desert-runner performance into its pickup line to bring the fight to the F-150 Raptor? Let us know in the poll, and don’t forget to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Silverado news, GMC Sierra news, Chevrolet news, GMC news and 24/7 GM news coverage.
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GM is too afraid to make a Silverado ZR2.
Alex, one question. The team that worked on the Colorado ZR2 also works with Silverado, or are two different teams without comm?
I think this article was BEAUTIFULLY written an yes that is another thing I absolutely hate about Gm it’s like they are two scared to do things an that why they stayed in second place oh iam sorry third it would make me so proud one day to really see Gm step up to ford
So you said GM, which is still in second place not third. Also you should read the article about the amount of retail sales GM is making.
GM doesn’t have the engineering or design talent to compete with Ford and Dodge in the truck market. GM didn’t have much talent to begin with while the rest either left or have been laid off. Management doesn’t have the courage to bring something to market that might not return a self imposed return on investment. Marketing would not promote it anyway. A poor excuse for an American company. Oh, that’s right it’s a Chinese import company.
General Motors has been delinquent; but this can be corrected at the drop of a hat by dropping the upgraded 495 hp LT2 6.2L OHV-2v V8 from the C8 Corvette into the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado SS (with 8-speed automatic) and let the competition begin.
I think part of the problem is there just doesn’t seam to be any passionate truck people in power at GM. They have the talent as proven by the new C8. I applaud the passion and vision the C8 project displayed. The truck division deserves just as much passion and vision especially considering they are the single biggest cash producers at GM. The ZR2 is great but it desperately needs a big brother.
No! 8 speed is total junk. Can we say, Class action. The 10 speed is the future. There’s a reason gm and ford together r&d’d it. And car engines are not a good idea for a offroad truck, good base but alot of changes needed for that application. And if a sport truck is what you want ask ford why they dont make the lightning…. people want roomy trucks that can take them and their gear wherever they want to go nowadays. Big horsepower and go anywhere capability in style
Its been proven the issue with the 8 speed transmission has to do with the transmission fluid. A flush with the proper fluid remedies the issue.
The 2019 Ford Limited has the same high output engine as the Raptor so there is a street version available.
If GM announces a Raptor fighter for the 2021 model year, with actual performance upgrades alas the ZR2 but with the a little more power coming from the 6.2; I’d trade in my 2019 Sierra Denali 1500 in a heartbeat.
That’s what they’re afraid of…lol…selling fewer nothin’-but-profit Denalis! 😉
Didn’t GM say the T1 was the most heavily focus grouped truck ever or something like that? Asked 7000+ owners for input or some such? And you’re telling me none of them asked for a GM raptor? I don’t believe that for even a second. Every time I see this one particular guy who lead the development in a youtube video he’s being bombarded by questions like “where’s the pano sunroof?” and “why nearly the same interior?” …he’s clearly getting PO’d as he’s hearing this from everybody and has lashed out in a few videos. In one video when asked about no pano roof he interrupts the interviewer with a terse “because we didn’t put one in it!” I think the T1 is great, but they’ve definitely been overshadowed sadly. I imagine heads have already rolled.
I’m also skeptical about their ‘focus group’. The T1 is one the of most negatively reviewed roll outs I can recall from both media and general public. They took parts of what they heard and blended it with what they wanted to hear. It’s not a total fail by any stretch but it’s not hard to see where they cut corners.
GM focus is electric cars for China, everything else is an afterthought that only gets a mediocre effort unless it’s the C8 which is a stand alone effort.
A Raptor rival? Those plans are on a pile in a small RenCen office, along with plans for a hot-hatch Cruze, a Wrangler-competitive GMC model, a performance-themed CUV/SUV with more than ‘adequate’ hp, among others.
GM’s engineering and design resources are bountiful, but they seem resigned to leaving certain niche-product markets alone and standing pat with a lot of profitable products that are mostly competent, but not always compelling, and finish third in 5-car comparison tests.
Hot hatch cruze or sonic ?
Raptor is a niche market. For Ford it was either going to take flight or crash and burn. In some segments there doesn’t need to be a competitor. GM had the hummer brand, albeit it wasn’t as extreme or purpose built like the Raptor but they were more capable than their competitors. With OEMs already trying to flood the markets with multiple vehicles at every segment i don’t think this is one to do that. The only problem is the pricing for the more vanilla trail boss/AT4, if GM is wanting to sell those downgraded “off-roaders”than they need to be more appealing financially.
The AT4 and trail bosses are more capable than the raptor. What does the raptor have that the AT4 doesn’t? Both have locking differentials, lift kits, 4w drive with crawl mode, but the AT4 has 4w auto, higher towing and a better ride. The both have off road shocks, though the fox shocks are considered better. Raptors are more exspensive. I don’t have a use for the raptor and would buy a caddilac or Corvette before a raptor, cause frankly, they would be more usable and drivable. People like the raptor because it has a dinosaur name and that’s about it. If it was called the FX-super package no one would buy it. A Silverado ZR-2 wouldn’t sell. Partially because of the fact that Chevy buys buy Chevy’s because they are the highest quality trucks and are the opposite of Ford zombies. The trail boss will sell better than a ZR-2 because it sounds cool, and is a mud truck. More people live in wooded areas than the desert.
More capable? Better ride? People buy because of dinosaur name? I mean I relize this is a GM site, but man the ignorance runs deep!
Subaru’s have 4w drive and a locking diff, maybe we should compare those too?
GM is the new Toyota. Play it safe. Unfortunately even Toyota doesn’t follow this concept anymore either. When Kia and Honda are developing more aggressive vehicles than you something is wrong. GM designs vehicles that you dont have to explain to your neighbors why you bought it. They’re not flashy, low key and boring.
Heard Ford is bringing back the Lightning, too. GM just keeps the vanilla vehicles coming.
In todays market conservitive products and boring products are where all the real profits are unfortuanly.
Often we enthusiast tend to think we are the profit centers when we are more the marketing centers. We look back at trucks like the Syclone and think that GM made a ton of money on them but the reality even merged witht he Typhoon they sold around 7K units if I recall.
GM did a good job with the GMPD before they went broke as it drew a lot of attention to their products but there was not a ton of money made. Even at Chrysler the Hellcat and Demon are a hell of a cool marketing program but there is little money in the volumes they sell. It is the $30K charger where the money is made.
Now with that said GM could use some good PR with the new trucks and to do a truck would not be all that difficult with the volumes they push. I would do a package like the ZR2 price wise where it makes a very good truck but keep the price under the full boat Raptor. In other words do the GM truck much like the Stingray. Give them the wow but at a price where people really would consider having one.
The Raptor is now over $80K and just out of reach of many. Better tires, Better Shocks. Better Skid Plates, more Power and a front locking diff would be a nice start. No need to get crazy with the body as many change bumpers and grills as it is. Give the customers the hardware and let them modify the body the way they choose. The Trail Boss looks fine now as does the AT4.
If you can just raise the price some and still keep the volume you will make money and still have a decent truck. The ZR2 sells at 15% of total volume and does well to make money. On the other hand there is no Ranger Raptor as if you take the price from down under and convert it to American dollars it comes out just over $70,000. That is why there is no Ranger Raptor till Ford can find a way to make it more affordabler in America.
I gave up on the Silverado ZR2 a while ago. I’ve been waiting for over 7 years for what seemed like a logical product given the punch counter punch Chevy and Ford seem to do on trucks.
It doesn’t make sense to me why GM wouldn’t want a halo trim for their moneymaker truck but with the Raptor killing it and the TRX coming, it looks like GM just disagrees with me.
This Saturday I’m pick up my new ZR2. I’m excited but still wish it had a tad more power. I would’ve spent up to a Silverado ZR2 price point if it was available.
The market is there, GM just feels like they don’t need it but some loyal GM guys do.
Let’s knock down some boundaries GM. Show us all some passion for getting things done. No more talk. JUST BRING IT!
I love the Raptor, but the competitor is the AT4.
6.2 V8: HP 425 Torque 450
3.5 EcoBoost: HP 450 Torque 510
More power goes to Ford
Pricing for Raptors go to $85,000
Pricing for a fully loaded AT4 that has MORE tech is around $64,000
Save $21,000 and have a truck with more tech and similar capability.
Pay for bigger wheels and a power induction system and still save a massive amount of money if the power isn’t enough for you?
While yes it has all the Tech, it doesn’t have the mechanical functions that the Raptor has like: Beefier UCA’s, Long travel suspension, upgraded frame, different bumpers, wide fenders, and a wider stance compared to the FX4(Ford’s AT4/Trailboss).
While you could argue that you can spend the money to get to the same level of performance, you will have realized your “Warranty” no longer exist. This is precisely why GM should build a raptor fighter, having a backed warranty goes miles over wondering if your warranty is still around due to modding your truck
Ford only gets that power with exspensive 93 octane. The 6.2 gets better power on normal gas.
One is a package and the other is, well, more than a package. You cannot just bolt on parts from a package and have it perform like a Raptor.
Torque is where it’s at for off-road use. The gen2 Raptor is much better than the gen1 (with a 6.2 V8) because the turbo V6 makes more mid range torque.
As a die-hard GM guy, it saddens me to say that The General (for whatever reason) is simply not interested in producing fun and exciting niche vehicles.
We obviously have the Corvette, the Camaro (although it appears that it is on the chopping block), the ZR2 and the Cadillac “V” lineup. If Cadillac does implement more “V” models into the stable, GM’s luxury brand will double as their performance brand too. It’s great to hear that Caddy is going to potentially expand their “V” line into CUV’s and SUV’s, but most people cannot afford a luxury/performance vehicle. They are not cheap!
It just seems that GM is happy with putting out bland and uninspiring Chevy models (for the most part). A few of the RS packages are their way of moving out of their comfort zone. $2,000 for black wheels and stickers? No thanks. I have a ’17 C7 Grand Sport and an ’11 Camaro SS Vert as weekend toys and I’d love to have a Sonic SS (~250hp) as a daily. As it is now, I settle for Cruze RS’s because that is as wild as GM will get.
Come on GM, give us something to be excited about!
[GM] Roger that. We have 5 more UCUV, CUV, SUV variations coming out within a year. Don’t tell anyone, but we are tapping famous and exciting nameplates that we are sure will have sales popping. “Nova” “Cobalt” It may not be grand, but…..”Prix”. Are you stoked now or what?!?! /S
Black wheel packages will be available for less than $3000.00.
Sonic SS… pretty please ?
Not always as easy as it sounds. I don’t know if this is true or any factor in the decision but I’ve been through Ft Wayne Assembly a few times and there were width issues with dually fenders, there’s places the trucks go through with the fenders behind the truck on a separate cart. They’ve since stuck a lot of money in the plant so I don’t know if this is still the case or not, but it’s possible a true wide body Silvy to compete with the Raptor wouldn’t fit down the line. Again, don’t know if this is the case for sure and I’m not sure if the other plants are the same but these are sometimes the kind of complications people don’t know about.
Ford Specifically created a Raptor only assembly line in Shreveport Louisiana, that’s how well it’s selling.
Unfortunately with the way the UAW is fighting back at gm (Which they rightly should being that GM is building “American” vehicles in Mexico” ) I think GM would lazily open up a taco shop/truck factory in Mexico to get these up and running.
Do you have a link for Ford’s Shreveport Louisiana assembly plant? I searched for it but cannot find it.
Wow! Great article and great comments! The readers have nailed it! GM wants vanilla profits and are not interested in vehicles that inspire passion or desire in truck buyers!
Imagine GM if a “truck guy” (pun intended) ran the company. AT4 regular cab with some big 6.2 power and real off road prowess. Trail Boss would be HOT! Probably have an SS option to rival the Raptor maybe? Maybe an RS/SS for the street in case the Lightening or SRT Rumble Bee came around. What about a cool body on frame off-roader called K5 Blazer to fight the Wrangler and Bronco!! Niche or not, profit or not, this would put GM in the “car business” again and draw attention to the rest of the line. The sad thing about this is that GM had many of these vehicles all along (save for a Raptor fighter) and chose to let them die on the vine.
Where’s Fred Diaz when you need him? Maybe Rich Bigland can escape FCA!
GM Trucks need Balls and Testosterone to stay relevant. Sometimes a gamble pays off as with the Raptor, sometimes not as with the Nissan Titan diesel, but at least there is an attempt to rise above mediocrity. If not a Raptor fighter at least a worthy Ram and F 150 fighter. At least something with more than black wheels and stickers. AL least get us “wanting” again.
GM is a dead brand walking. Have you seen that ugly a$$ Silverado front end, have you seen the Camaros Ugly A$$ front end. We know that the Camaro is likely dead. The Blazer BLLLAAAHHH.. Im a die hard bowtie guy, I own a New ZL1, 2017 Z06.. I love these cars, but they are focused on China and the cash cows. The mustang is a better looking car, so is the Old ass Challenger…GM needs some Halo cars, Typhoon, Grand National(Ohh I own both those too) A Silverado SS with a LT4/10 speed.. AND A RAPTOR fighter with a LT4, Id trade my Raptor(yes my only Ford) in on one.. hell while you are at it.. I love the new widebody Chargers… GM just has NO answers.. and I have no money for them in the future..