We’re at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nevada. Under the desert lights, a Ford F-150 Raptor lines up against a Ford Mustang GT. Not the Raptor R, mind you, that’s the $110,995 beast with the supercharged 5.2-liter V8. No, this is the regular Raptor, the one that showed up with a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 450 HP and 510 lb-ft of torque. Respectable numbers, certainly. Just not quite enough when your opponent happens to be a Mustang GT with a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 cranking out 486 horses and 418 lb-ft.
The context matters here. While Ram recently relaunched its 1500 SRT TRX for 2027, now packing 777 HP and 922 Nm of torque, this particular Ford showdown wasn’t about that rivalry. This was something far more intimate, a family affair gone sideways.
The F-150 Raptor hits 60 mph in just over 5.5 seconds. The Mustang GT does it a few tenths quicker. On paper, the muscle car had the edge. On asphalt, the verdict came down to physics and pride. The Raptor weighs significantly more, despite its 10-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive system working overtime to distribute power. The Mustang? Lighter, sharper, built for exactly this kind of encounter.
What unfolded at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway wasn’t particularly close. The quarter-mile sprint ended with roughly two seconds separating winner from loser. An eternity in drag racing terms. The video, uploaded to YouTube by Wheels, captures the moment with clinical precision. One Ford accelerating into vindication, the other left contemplating life choices.
There’s something almost poetic about watching a six-figure off-road luxury truck get outrun by a sports car that costs considerably less. The Raptor R might have fared better, but it wasn’t invited. Instead, the standard Raptor bore the weight of expectations it never asked for, facing down a Mustang GT that arrived with something to prove.
