At the Outback ATV Park in Laurinburg North Carolina, Popular Mechanics covered a fantastic race between the 2017 Ford Raptor pickup truck and the Polaris RZR ATV. While the Raptor has the highest traction clearance of street-legal vehicles, the RZR puts it to shame. Thought the RZR only has 110hp compared to the 450hp in the Raptor, the course they raced definitely evened the playing field between the two. Ripping across about 1/8th mile of track, the teams picked a spot, which wouldn't give either vehicle an unfair advantage. This was definitely the battle of ultimate suspension versus ultimate horsepower.
Now you wouldn't usually think of pitting a street truck against a purely off-road vehicle, but what else would you expect from the guys at Popular Mechanics? Though they are very different in size, the power-to-weight ratios are surprisingly similar. The biggest difference is what each is built for. While the Raptor is an on-road / off-road machine, the RZR is all about tearing up the desert.
The race was close, start to finish. 0 to 60 for both vehicles was between 9 and 10 seconds. On-road the Raptor can typically hit that in 5 seconds, so the course definitely proved a challenge for the truck. Perpendicular ruts and rolling sand dunes were definitely tough for the Raptor. Though the RZR had the clear advantage off the line, the Raptor quickly caught up and dominated the track. At the end, the Raptor won by a nose.
The real test would have been to see which set of E3 Spark Plugs made the difference. With extra power boosting both vehicles, it may have led to an entirely different result. To watch the video of this incredible race, click over to Popular Mechanics now.
