February 5, 2012

Raptors Hunt in Packs

Hennessey Raptor pack

“Try to imagine yourself in the Cretaceous Period. You get your first look at this “six foot turkey” as you enter a clearing. He moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing his head. And you keep still because you think that maybe his visual acuity is based on movement like T-Rex – he’ll lose you if you don’t move. But no, not Velociraptor. You stare at him, and he just stares right back. And that’s when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side, from the other two raptors you didn’t even know were there. Because Velociraptor’s a pack hunter, you see, he uses coordinated attack patterns and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this – a six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the middle toe. He doesn’t bother to bite your jugular like a lion, oh no … he slashes at you here… or here … or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is … you are alive when they start to eat you. So you know … try to show a little respect.”

– Dr. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park

You’ve been warned.

Tune In: Tanner Foust Races the Hennessey VelociRaptor Across the Desert on Top Gear USA

Hennessey VelociRaptor on Top Gear USA

The US-spec version of the wildly successful Top Gear TV show is in full swing after 3 episodes, and this week promises to launch it even higher… literally.

This Sunday you can catch host (and Gymkhana champ) Tanner Foust take to the air in the Hennessey F-150 VelociRaptor 475 as he blasts across the rugged Arizona desert in one of the most capable trucks on the planet. But he’s going to need every bit of horsepower and suspension travel if he’s going to beat his competition to the finish line: A HALO jumper slicing through the air from 25,000 feet!

It’s “HALO vs. VelociRaptor” as both competitors take to the sky:

From History.com — Tanner races Ford’s new F150 Raptor against a parachutist jumping from 25,000 feet. Adam reviews the new Mercedes SLS AMG, and Rutledge and Adam go into battle as they attempt to create a replacement to the Hummer for the military. Kid Rock races on the Top Gear test track.

Top Gear USA airs this Sunday, December 12th, at 10 pm Eastern on History, so set your DVR and tune in for one wild off-road ride!

More about the Hennessey VelociRaptor line of performance upgrades and parts for the 2010 – 2011 6.2L F-150 Raptor.

The VelociRaptor 575 – New Supercharged 6.2L Raptor Upgrade

VelociRaptor 575 6.2 Supercharger

The wait for a 6.2L supercharger option is finally over with the release of Hennessey Performance’s new supercharged VelociRaptor 575 upgrade.

Producing 575 crank horsepower at standard boost levels (6-7 psi), the VelociRaptor 575 features a ProCharger D-1SC centrifugal supercharger unit, upgraded fuel injectors, a large air-to-air intercooler and custom tuning that has posted impressive gains on our Dynojet. Final numbers on our test mule showed 496 rear wheel horsepower and 473 lb-ft of rear wheel torque!

The package is available both as a serial-numbered Hennessey installation or as a mail order parts kit shipped to your door. The mail order version packs all the hardware and parts needed for installation and includes a pre-programmed handheld tuner calibrated for the supercharger and extra fuel.

There’s no beating the immense HP-for-dollar ratio of a supercharger system for continuous, on demand power. The difference from a stock 6.2 to supercharged is night and day. The boost from a centrifugal system comes on smooth, building into the higher rpms, giving you manageable torque down low and plenty of top end power to keep these heavy trucks moving. As we progress further into our testing, we’ll be logging 0-60 mph and 1/4 mile times to show how the VelociRaptor 575 stacks up against the VR600 twin turbo. The butt-o-meter reads right on target, with the 575 just slightly slower than the more intensive 600 twin turbo.

Official driving numbers will come soon, but for now, check out a VelociRaptor 575 in action on our chassis dyno:

On the Dyno: VelociRaptor 600 Twin Turbo

The wait for a turbo setup on Ford’s new 6.2L Raptor is over with the completion of Hennessey Performance’s VelociRaptor 600 package for the 2010 – 2011 6.2 Raptor. Remember the teaser start-up video? Well now the truck has been tested, tweaked, dyno’d and driven… and the results are in.

The truck was very consistent during multiple test runs, posting up rear wheel horsepower in the 490 range on 6 psi of boost through a factory exhaust. To amp up the terrifying sound of the truck and to see just how much Ford’s stock muffler was holding the turbos back, a freer-flowing exhaust with Magnaflow muffler was added.

The experiment paid-out huge, allowing the system to flow dramatically better, and in turn, pick up power. After a few teaks to the tune and reigning in the boost levels to a tame 6.5 psi, the VelociRaptor 600 squatted back on its FOX Racing shocks and laid down an impressive 517 rear wheel HP and 525 lb-ft of torque on its 93 octane pump gas.

The 500 rwhp mark had been dispatched with little effort and was well on the mark for our VelociRaptor 600 upgrade’s 622 bhp / 638 lb-ft tq package rating.

Check out the twin turbo VelociRaptor’s dyno video below:

But we’re not done yet! Stay tuned for more news about the 6.2L Raptor coming soon, including a new supercharger application now under development for a new form of boosted fury.

And click here for the latest upgrades and products available for the 6.2L Raptor at HennesseyPerformance.com!



Hennessey Twin Turbo 6.2L Raptor Fires to Life

The new 6.2L V8 in Ford’s F-150 Raptor truck may have only been out for a few months, but it’s already the next of a long line of performance vehicles to receive the Hennessey twin turbo treatment.

Introducing the VelociRaptor 600 and 800 twin turbo upgrades.

Continuing where the supercharged 5.4L VelociRaptor 500 left off, the VelociRaptor 600 and 800 pick up the slack for the 6.2 as a viable supercharger option is still months down the road. Rated at 605 bhp and 810 bhp, respectively, development of the twin turbo system is well underway, with a running vehicle already giving us a hint at what’s to come:

Click Here For More Information About 6.2L and 5.4L Raptor Parts, Accessories & Upgrades from Hennessey Performance