The Ford F-150 Raptor is the originator of the sports pickup market which is flourishing at the moment. From 37-inch wheels to 6-wheel conversions and Pre-Runner builds, we’re seeing a lot of creativity in this segment. But this F-150 Dune Raptor concept by Oscar Vargas could be the beginning of something new.
At a glance, this looks like a Raptor truck that’s missing a lot of bodywork. The doors are gone and the body is basically one big roll cage instead of a normal chassis. You might like this to Safari vehicles or Jeeps, but the inspiration for the F-150 Dune Raptor comes from a very specific place, the Brabus 900 Crawler.
Brabus love to work on the G-Class/G63. Over the years, they’ve done some really crazy stuff, like pickup conversions with drone landing pads and ultra-wide carbon fiber kits. The 900 Crawler is their most extreme creation yet. It looks like a G63 but is actually a fully-bespoke dune buggy with carbon fiber body parts designed to look like the AMG model in question.
It’s powered by a modified 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 which makes just shy of 900 hp. The entire thing is made in-house by Brabus, from the red tubular frame chassis to the carbon parts that give it a G63 look. It takes a lot of time, so they’re only making 15 of these, each costing from 700,000 euros or about $750,000 in today’s money.
The extreme Brabus 4×4 has inspired the Ford F-150 Dune Raptor concept by rendering artist Oscar Vargas aka wb.artist20. The execution is basically the same: a tubular frame instead of a normal body and a few of the original Raptor body panels to sell the look.
Like the Brabus Crawler, the Dune Raptor has a flat roof with a light bar. The front end gains a bull bar and the Raptor’s normal face has been wrapped in more rugged fenders flares. Meanwhile, this has a pickup bed and four full-door openings, so it looks like a more serious piece of kit.
The Brabus-G63-Raptor connection
Even though this is only a rendering, I’m fairly convinced that somebody will try to make one or at least offer skeleton tube doors for the Raptor.
You see, the sports truck market has branched into 6×6 conversions, which currently affect the RAM TRX, the Silverado, and the Jeep Gladiator. It all basically started with the Hennessey VelociRaptor, a six-wheel conversion of the Mk1 model.
But you could argue that the idea of a 6×6 costing way too much money stems from the Mercedes-AMG G63 6×6 pickup. With a price tag exceeding $1M and massive tires powered by a big AMG V8, there was nothing else like it on the road, inspiring the creation of a whole segment.
And while there is no direct connection to Brabus, the German tuner is known for making some of the best upgrades to any G63, even the 6×6. And that’s basically why I think the F-150 Dune Raptor will be built; because a Raptor version of a $750,000 German buggy is irresistible.
Oscar’s 3D concept takes some cool liberties with the design. The Dune Raptor has a Baja-style spare tire mount in the bed and seats that slide out. I’d like to imagine a supercharged Coyote or LS crate motor powers this thing instead of the EcoBoost V6, since “450 hp” doesn’t have a nice ring to it.
