What does owning a supercar actually feel like? More specifically, what does owning a Supercar for the Desert – the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor – feel like day-to-day?
We’re guessing – given the last few times the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor made a stop at the crankandpiston oval office – that’s you’re starting to understand its capabilities off-road. Indeed, when Ford Middle East very kindly loaned us a super long Supercrew version, barely a day had passed before the striking red paintwork was coated in sand and mud. You don’t take the Supercar of the Desert – all 411hp and 6.2-litre V8 of it – off-road without giving it the beans.
But, having been for a thrash on the sands and thereafter managed to retrieve most of the grains from about my person, I was curious: exactly how would the self-styled Supercar of the Desert stand up to life in the city? Permit me to walk you through a city shoot with the SVT Raptor. All 6195mm x 1943mm x 2464mm of it.
Pulling out of the parking lot
Fairly essential when you begin a photoshoot, and surely simplicity itself? Well, yes. Sort of. Not really. If your parking lot is as tight as that at the crankandpiston office, getting in and out sometimes goes hand-in-hand with sparks sluicing paintwork off the trailer box as you inadvertently take out an unsighted Toyota Camry or Nissan Juke. Remember to leave a note.
Filling up…
To be on the safe side it’s best to start a shoot, even a local one, with a full tank of fuel (I learnt this the hard way). Of course, navigating through Dubai’s usually rammed petrol forecourts – where the only larger vehicle around is the fuel tanker itself – will probably have you suffering withdrawal symptoms for the office car park.
…and washing up
With valet car washes ten to the dozen in Dubai, getting the brute cleaned has never been easier. Unless height restrictions say otherwise, and squeezing between the bollards to get into the bay in the first place can draw an iPhone camera flash or two. And don’t forget that your fellow motorists will be a bit cheesed off that hovering out the inside –in our super long Supercrew version – takes longer than most other vehicles.
Load up the kit
Epic shoots are kind of our bread and butter at crankandpiston, which means kit can sometimes be on the hefty side. Not that this is too much trouble in the Raptor. Our only concern now is somebody nicking it…
…ah ha, there you go!
