China is undergoing a massive economic boom, creating millionaires and billionaires as well as millions of impoverished, suicide-prone factory workers. For the priviledged few, Ford Performance has localized the F-150 Raptor pickup, as seen in these spy shots from Real Fast Fotography.
There are only a few visible differences, presumably to conform to local lighting laws. Chances are the powertrain is untouched. Chinese buyers will have to pay a high premium to buy the car, which is made in North America and shipped over; while the country no longer charges a 25% import duty, the 15% tariff, which takes effect on July 1, is still fairly steep.
The truck is being tested in the US, where Ford has its proving grounds. There’s no word yet on projected sales.
David Zatz has been writing about cars and trucks since the early 1990s, including books on the Dodge Viper, classic Jeeps, and Chrysler minivans. He also writes on organizational development and business at toolpack.com and covers Mac statistics software at macstats.org. David has been quoted by the New York Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Detroit News, and USA Today.
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