- It’s unknown why this truck was crushed, but it might have been a pre-production prototype.
- These models often lack standard VINs and cannot be sold to the public, so they get destroyed.
- Nevertheless, some prototypes occasionally get sold to the public through auctions or rebuilds.
As far as exciting and engaging high-performance pickup trucks go, the Ford F-150 Raptor has long been the king. Sure, the more powerful Ram 1500 TRX and the F-150 Raptor R have stolen some of its thunder in recent years, but the standard Raptor still has a loyal following. Unfortunately, that’s now one fewer in the States, thanks to a merciless encounter with a car crusher.
This clip was recently shared on Instagram and showed what appears to be a pristine 2024 F-150 Raptor, painted in Shelter Green, meeting its untimely demise somewhere in the United States. There’s no word on why this Raptor was sent to the crusher, but it could have been a pre-production model used during the development of the rowdy pickup.
Read: 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor R Dances On Ram TRX’s Grave With 720 HP
If that’s the case, it likely served its purpose and was never assigned a standard VIN, making it ineligible for public sale. In the video, the crusher makes quick work of the F-150 Raptor, pressing down on the roof as the truck sits on a solid concrete base. At first, the suspension compresses under the pressure before fully bottoming out.
From there, the body begins to break, and the chassis appears to bend just being the passenger compartment. Windows explode, and those aluminum body panels are twisted, bent, and smashed. It’s a sad end for one of the most versatile trucks on the market.
We hate seeing perfectly good cars get crushed like this, but this is par for the course of the auto industry. Before a new model is launched, brands have to build dozens, if not hundreds, of prototypes to test, develop, and validate parts. Once these cars have served their purpose, they are usually scrapped.
There can be some exceptions to this. For example, over the past several years, a handful of prototypes used in the development of the LaFerrari were sold at auction. Occasionally, brands will also strip down and rebuild prototypes of limited-run models before selling them to customers. McLaren did this with the Senna, rebuilding 10 prototypes and selling them as street-legal models.
So while this particular Raptor didn’t get a second chance, at least it went out in a blaze of, well… hydraulic compression.