Ford came up with the idea of equal-length exhausts.
Because the sound of a performance vehicle’s engine is important, it communicates its power to other road users. The third-gen 2021 Raptor was launched by the engineering team. They went to great lengths making sure that the twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V6 sounded right when the driver pressed the accelerator.
We looked at traditional equal-length systems as well as some exhaust characters that we thought were very strong in the industry. We also looked at the Alfa Romeo Quatrio vehicles and did benchmarking on the Nissan GT-R,” Jeff Nichols (Ford’s powertrain engineer on the Raptor), told Track.
Dual exhausts with equal length pipes produce a better sound because they allow for the gasses to flow out at the same moment. This layout can be difficult to engineer. Ford came up with a solution by adding a trombone loop on one side to increase the length of the material.
Because engineers wanted to maximize ground clearance and departure angle, packaging was another problem. “Usually, you place the mufflers at your rear. You have four sets of tailpipes. This gives you a quiet and loud side. We didn’t want the truck to have a negative departure angle. We wanted everything to be in the middle of our truck, so we used the packaging,” Nichols explained to Road & Track.
The Raptor’s active exhaust system now offers Quiet and Normal settings, as well as Sport and Baja settings. These settings can be changed depending on driving mode or individual preference. The gases are pumped through pipes of 3.0 inches in diameter.
Ford has not yet shared the Raptor’s power figures. Although the previous-gen Raptor had 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque, it is possible that the new exhaust could increase the power.
This summer, the new Raptor will be available. Ford has not yet disclosed pricing, but we expect to start at $60,000.