The most off road-oriented half-ton pickup coming onto the market later this year, the 2017 Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] F-150 Raptor, will ride on a set of BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires that aren't exactly identical to the ones you can purchase at your local tire shop.

Instead, the bespoke version of the world's most famous all-terrain tire was developed alongside the latest version of the Raptor. Ford says it teamed its engineers up with those from BFGoodrich to make sure that "the tires matched the extreme performance expected from Raptor."

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Ford said in a release issued to members of the media that hundreds of hours of testing were involved in their collaboration with BFGoodrich. What makes the Raptor's version of the otherwise off-the-shelf KO2 are a host of proprietary changes designed to make the truck more comfortable on road and to offer better grip when the pavement runs out.

The tires are also race-proven: Ford uses the same tires on its Best in the Desert race trucks. That demanding series is one of the ultimate endurance tests for trucks, let alone their off road tires.

The latest Raptor will ride on 35-inch rubber, among the largest ever offered from the factory on an SUV or pickup truck.

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