Fun Trucks Friday: Raptor hunters, thunder snow and more

Updated Feb 3, 2014
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Raptor hunter? If you happen to be a Chevy guy/gal who admits to a touch of lust in your heart for the beefed up performance provided by the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, Southern Comfort Automotive and Lingenfelter Performance Engineering have just the thing: the Reaper.

Take a Chevrolet Silverado, swap out some stock equipment for a racing suspension, performance exhaust, custom 20” wheels (or 17” beadlocks, if you’re really going off the grid) and 33” off-road tires, high clearance bumper with reinforced skid plate, aggressive trim and lighting touches, badging and a distinctive wrap – the list, as they say, goes on and on.

Oh, and the Lingenfelter supercharger and engine tuning package, rounding up 550 ponies or so.

The Reaper upgrade will be available through select Chevrolet dealerships. Just check with the folks at Southern Comfort if you’re interested. And have $55-$65K handy.

 

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Thunder snow: The Winter Olympics are about to start in Russia, and there’s nothing wrong with a couple of weeks’ worth of watching fit and not-unattractive, rosy-cheeked Nordic types play in the snow and ice. But here at Hard Working Trucks, well, you know.

And the warped minds at Red Bull have delivered, once again.

Click for video (unless you’re squeamish)Click for video (unless you’re squeamish)

So the pristine hills of Maine’s Sunday River Resort were alive with the sound of 900-hp TORC series off-road race trucks, as Red Bull Frozen Rush brought eight normally desert-dwelling competitors to the slopes in what was billed as the first ever head-to-head race on snow. 

If you’re prone to getting truck-sick, you might want to look away at about the two minute mark in the POV video when winning driver Ricky Johnson does a few post-run donuts.

 

Another winner: We left (at least) one good deed unreported in our previous roundup of hard working trucks auctioned for good causes at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., earlier this month.

The WD-40® Specialist/SEMA Cares Foose Ford F-350 made its final stop around the countryand received a winning bid of $200,000, with all proceeds benefiting Childhelp, Victory Junction and the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund.

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The custom 2012 Ford Super Duty work truck, designed by legendary hot rod designer Chip Foose, includes Foose-inspired front and rear wheel flares and custom bodywork, among other upgrades.

 

WD-40 Specialist/SEMA Cares Foose Ford F-350 on the block at Barrett-Jackson (Photo: Business Wire)WD-40 Specialist/SEMA Cares Foose Ford F-350 on the block at Barrett-Jackson (Photo: Business Wire)

After its successful debut at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the custom truck appeared at events throughout California, New Mexico, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Tennessee.

The work truck represents the new WD-40 Specialist line of products designed to help skilled trade professionals get their specific jobs done with ease.

The winning bid came from Bill Barker of Fort Worth, Texas, who was able to meet with WD-40 Company and charity representatives after placing the winning bid.

“I’ve been blessed,” Barker said. “For me, it wasn’t just about the truck – it was for charity and it was something I felt I needed to do.”

Well done, indeed.