Michael Accardi 
Some people still haven’t forgiven Ford for ditching the Raptor’s original 6.2L V8 and replacing it with a twin-turbo V6 for the truck’s second-generation. Sure, the turbo motor was instantly faster and brought more capability, most people just didn’t think it sounded as good. Well, the third-generation 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor is here, and while we’re pretty sure the incoming Raptor R will pack a nasty V8, the regular Raptor is still romping with Ford’s 3.5L twin-turbo EcoBoost V6.
But Ford took the customer feedback to heart, and looked to do something about the exhaust note on the new Ford Raptor.
For this generation, the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor was given an entirely new exhaust in an effort to upgrade the truck’s exhaust note, especially compared to the old truck. According to Road & Track, Ford engineers were really interested in the vicious sounds of the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio Giulia and Stelvio models.
“We went and looked at some traditional equal-length systems and some exhaust characters we felt were very good within the industry. We looked at the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio series of vehicles, and we did some benchmarking on the Nissan GT-R as well,” Jeff Nichols, powertrain system engineer told the publication.
Trucks typically run their exhaust down one side of the truck, compared to down the middle for passenger cars. Because of this, it creates unequal length between the two different sides of the engine, which creates kind of a syncopated pulse.
To change that, the new pipes of the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor incorporate a 360-degree trombone loop section to equalize the distance between the headers and tailpipes on both sides of the engine. The team also ran an X-pipe, for improved performance and sound.
It doesn’t hurt that the truck also offers an active exhaust system.
In order to maximize departure angles, the single muffler was moved towards the middle of the 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor. With the muffler’s exhaust valves set wide open the exhaust operates almost like a straight pipe with each bank remaining separate until they cross at the X-pipe.
Now, just imagine what the team has in store for the upcoming Raptor R.
