The 2024 Dakar Rally is currently underway in Saudi Arabia, but Ford, which is among the competitors, is already looking to next year's event.
The Blue Oval on Wednesday announced it is preparing a new Raptor truck for next year's rally. It will be a bespoke truck that Ford spokesperson Jay Ward said will compete simply as a Raptor, and not as one of the current production Raptors based on the Bronco, F-150, and Ranger.
A teaser shot released together with Wednesday's announcement points to the truck's design being somewhat related to the redesigned 2024 Ranger Raptor. The two trucks feature a similar shape for their daytime running lights, though the Raptor truck for the 2025 Dakar Rally has slimmer lights than the Ranger Raptor.
Ford will compete in the popular T1 class, which is open to non-production vehicles that meet FIA technical and safety standards. The vehicles typically feature tubular chassis and composite bodies.
Ford said it wants to take home the outright win next year and will use lessons learned from its 2024 entry, which is also a bespoke truck, though styled like the previous-generation Ranger Raptor.
Also involved is M-Sport, a British motorsports company that has operated some of Ford's rally programs, including in the World Rally Championship. M-Sport is also building the 5.4-liter V-8 for the new Ford Mustang GT3 race car that will compete this year in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, and SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe.
