Michael Accardi 
If you ask most enthusiasts what improvements they would make the 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor most would say “V8” before you even spit the rest of the words out. But that’s a red herring and not at all the subject matter of today’s examination of the Addictive Desert Designs F-150 Raptor on display during the 2021 SEMA Show happening from Tuesday to Friday.
Really, the show truck is a warmed-up version of the 2022 F-150 Raptor SuperCrew with 2.0 kilowatts of Pro Power Onboard. Ford calls the Addictive Desert Designs a more hardcore version of of the truck, even though capability hasn’t increased over the stock truck by even one grain of sand.
Of course, while capability remains steady-state, the team at Addictive Desert Designs did pile on additional functionality. The Addictive Desert Designs 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor gains house-made off-road front and rear bumpers which add an element of Baja-style to the already mean-mugging 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor.
The front fascia gains a set of bumper-mounted spotlights from Rigid Industries, which joins the set of high-mounted spotlights–also from Rigid–integrated into the new bed-mounted tire rack. There’s enough light there to blind God, the Devil, or maybe even Stevie Wonder.
Additional modifications include rock slider steps, plus a chase rack. The package is finished off with a tricolor graphics pack and color-matched beadlock wheels.
Of course, this SEMA Show build isn’t exactly the F-150 Raptor news most fans are waiting for. There are still many unanswered questions regarding the hotly-anticipated 2022 F-150 Raptor R, which will welcome the return of a blown V8 to the Raptor’s engine compartment.
The 2022 Ford F-150 Raptor R is expected to arrive with a version of Ford’s supercharged 5.2L “Predator” V8 which currently stars in the Shelby GT500. Tuning and power delivery should differ in the desert runner, and it’s expected to arrive using a similar version of Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission which is already working with the twin-turbo 3.5L EcoBoost engine in the “regular” F-150 Raptor.
