AUTOPANEL

My experiences with the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in the past were confined mostly to paved roads--hardly the right environment to get a good feel for this wild beast of a pickup. While the truck offers major appeal in the styling and suspension departments, the 5.4-liter, 310-hp, 365-lb-ft V8 just didn't seem to live up to the bat-out-of-hell tradition of its SVT truck predecessor, the F-150 Lightning.

All that changed when Ford invited us out to drive the 2010 SVT Raptor 6.2--the mid-year upgrade with the all-new 6.2-liter, 411-hp, 434-lb-ft V8. Ford promised some on-road driving along with plenty of off-road work during a day at its Michigan Proving Grounds about 40 miles outside of Detroit.

Rain was the dominant weather for most of the week leading up to the event, and the drive day dawned wet and nasty. While rain might put a damper on enthusiasm for most drive events, in this case it could only mean one thing: Joy in Mudville.

Sure enough, the drive routes and trails scratched out by the Ford team were in terrible shape--almost like someone had imported a slice of the soggy British Midlands to Romeo, Mich. But hey, we're talking the Raptor here, with mongo Fox shocks, Raptor-exclusive all-terrain tires, massive ground clearance, electronic locking rear differential, stability control, traction control, hill descent control, off-road mode--the works. The truck seemed up to the task, but were we?

With my co-pilot, SVT suspension and vehicle dynamics chief engineer Eric Zinkosky, serving as navigator and cheerleader, we launched into a series of severe driving endeavors, the likes of which I've only encountered a few times (driving Land Rovers in the aforementioned Midlands comes to mind). Though seven inches wider than a normal F-150, the Raptor made easy work of tight wooded trails, despite mud that made steering nearly irrelevant at times. We picked our way through the rutted, sloppy backwood two-tracks, up and down hills, with the Raptor's 6.2-liter engine's extra punch providing ample assistance.

But the real fun came later in the day when Ford cut us loose on a wide-open high-speed off-road course that wound its way around a fairly open field, over hill and dale, and through all manner of mud. Zinkosky complained that the mud was limiting our speed in several stretches, but it had no effect on the pure joy of pounding around an off-road course that truly tested the truck's mettle. We bounded out of the cockpit after each track run literally sweating from the workout.

Is the Raptor for real? So far, 7,200 buyers have stepped up to get one, and the truck's average time on a dealer lot is six days. Like its effect on the Raptor's 0-to-60-mph times (6.9 seconds vs. 8.4 seconds for the 5.4-liter V8), the addition of the 6.2-liter engine to the lineup is only accelerating that process.

Need more? Ford tells us that when the 2011 Raptor hits the market late this summer, the lineup will expand to include a Crew Cab model--offered exclusively with the 6.2-liter engine.

Mud, as we understand it, will be optional.