As far as high-performance pickup trucks go, the Ford F-150 Raptor has been a leader for years. While the Ram 1500 TRX and the F-150 Raptor R have captured some attention recently, the standard Raptor still commands a faithful following.
Unfortunately, there is one fewer Raptor on the road. A video recently shared on Instagram shows what appears to be a spotless 2024 F-150 Raptor, painted in Shelter Green, meeting its end at a U.S. car crusher. It’s not known why this specific Raptor was destroyed, but it could have been a pre-production model used during the development phase.
If that’s the case, it probably fulfilled its purpose and never received a standard VIN, making it ineligible for public sale. The video depicts the car crusher making short work of the F-150 Raptor, pressing down on the roof while the truck sits on a concrete base. The suspension compresses initially, then bottoms out. From there, the body begins to buckle, and the chassis appears to bend just behind the passenger compartment. Windows shatter, and the aluminum body panels twist and contort. It is a sad end for a very popular truck.
TheRaptorCollection
Seeing a perfectly good vehicle crushed is disheartening, but it’s a standard practice in the automotive industry. Before a new model is released, manufacturers build dozens, if not hundreds, of prototypes to test, develop, and validate components. Once these vehicles have served their purpose, they’re typically scrapped. There are exceptions, though.
Over the last few years, several prototypes used in the development of the LaFerrari were sold at auction. Sometimes, brands will disassemble and rebuild prototypes of limited-run models before selling them to customers. McLaren did this with the Senna, rebuilding 10 prototypes and selling them as street-legal vehicles.
So, while this F-150 Raptor didn’t get a second chance, at least it went out in a blaze of, well… hydraulic compression.
