Image via Larry Chen/YouTube
If you have a lot of money to blow on a fun desert runner, the Shelby Raptor Baja isn’t a bad truck. Designed to smack around Ram TRXs, it takes a Ford Raptor and dials up all around performance to a ten. Plus it looks and sounds cool, as you can experience in the included video.
Check out this Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a Redeye engine swap.
Speaking of that, automative photographer Larry Chen shared amazing footage of the Shelby Raptor Baja in action, so be sure to check it out. The visceral experience you get from the video is so much better than just reading a spec sheet.
Announced back in October 2024, the Shelby Baja Raptor is built using the regular Raptor or the Raptor R as a base. Both are being offered in limited quantities, which is a common practice with Shelby American.
Of course that means these trucks aren’t exactly cheap. To take one out in the desert and go off jumps, someone would have to be sitting on a ton of cash, because wrecking one of these is going to be one hell of an insurance claim.
To start off, the truck looks distinct compared to a stock Raptor. That includes the chase rack, steel bumpers, and LED lights. Shelby adds its own stripes and badges, making sure everyone knows who built the pickup.
As the do, the interior gets Shelby emblems on the seats, dash, and floor mats, just in case you forget what you’re driving.
With the EcoBoost V6 trucks, Shelby American dials up output by 100-horsepower, swapping out the hood for a lighter one that features functional scoops. The company also adds a BDS suspension lift kit, modifies the cooling system, plus adds 18-inch Shelby Raptor Flow wheels wearing 37-inch mud terrain tires, with two spares strapped up in the bed.
For those who get the Raptor R version, the Baja gains a 3.8-liter Whipple supercharger from Bengal Red, upgraded intake manifold, and a Borla performance exhaust. That setup is good for over 900-hp using premium pump gas.
What’s even cooler is the truck comes with a warranty, something you won’t get modifying a Raptor by yourself.
Image via Larry Chen/YouTube
