Full-size passenger vans were cannibalized by minivans back in the 80s and the current SUV craze means there’s no chance for a comeback of the first. However, while that is true for most drivers, the enthusiast world has its own ways. And, in this adrenaline-fueled universe, it’s totally normal for a graphic designer to expand the already insanely long life cycle of the Ford E-Series passenger van by pixel-painting a Raptor iteration.
Let’s say you’re looking to order a Ford E-Series van nowadays. Well, you’d be getting a heavily refreshed (multiple times over) iteration of the fourth-gen model that’s been in production since 1991—don’t worry, this is a typical life cycle for an American full-size offering of the sort, or at least it used to be.
However, these old-school movers are only available in cutaway or stripped chassis form. That’s because the Blue Oval took a cue from its European operations and brought the Transit Stateside to replace the passenger and cargo version of the E-Series (aka Econoline) after 2014.
The said year also brought the end of the line for the OG F-150 Raptor. And now that the go-fast-anywhere full-size truck is in its third generation, Ford Performance has expanded the Raptor family to also include the Ranger mid-size truck and the Bronco SUV built on its platform (ah, the Braptor!).
And digital artist Jim (aka jlord8) wants to see the bloodline being further expanded. However, adding the E-Series to the Raptor range would have an additional effect, resurrecting the said people-moving iteration of the full-size van. And with that modern front fascia and taillights, this seems like a fitting revival.
The numbers would be wild
Given the insanity of such a stunt, the twin-turbo 3.5L EcoBoost V6 of the “normal” F-150 Raptor, with its 450 hp and 510 lb-ft (692 Nm) of twist would probably have to be sent to the reserve bench. Instead, such a contraption could earn its velocity stripes by employing the supercharged 5.2L Predator V8 the 2023 Raptor R (you can see this in the image gallery below) recently received as a gift from the Mustang Shelby GT500.
Sporting 700 hp and 640 lb-ft (868 Nm) of twist for the truck application-less power and more torque compared to the muscle car—the Ford E-Series Raptor could give creations like German tuner CAD Motors’ Mercedes-AMG V8-powered Mercedes V-Class a run for their Old Continent money.
Of course, that German creation, which uses the powerplant of the Mercedes-AMG GT R supercars, is an asphalt creature, while the Raptor treatment means this Ford could carry the whole crew across the dunes at frightening speeds.
Surely, such a ridiculous mashup could only exist in the virtual world, we hear you saying. Well, stranger things have happens in the real world, so we wouldn’t be surprised if some wacky builder out there would Raptor-ize the E-Series for SEMA. What kind of things? Well, the Raptorbus, a Gen II Raptor-faced E-Series van that Russian tuner Ford Market built into a 6×6 wants to tell you all about this in the second Instagram post below.
