The Ford F-150 Raptor RHD.

LONDON: Anyone with an interest in pickup trucks will probably know a fair amount about the Ford F-150, even if they're not in North America. But even though there are lots of different models, engines and specifications to choose from when it comes to America's biggest-selling vehicle, there's one thing that can't be specified from the factory, and that's right-hand drive.

But it is now going to be possible to have a right-hand drive F-150 in Europe (and Malaysia), and not just any F-150 either. Thanks to a leading specialist and luxury car dealer in the UK, Clive Sutton, it will now be possible to buy a right-hand drive Ford F-150 Raptor.

And that's not all either, because Clive Sutton will also be offering a right-hand drive version of the new 2018 Lincoln Navigator SUV too.



The specialist dealership was already the first to offer the F-150 Raptor to the UK market in its original left-hand-drive form early last year, but now it has managed to complete the first-ever full conversion of the high-performance "super truck" to right-hand drive.

The steering swap has been successfully carried out by Sutton Bespoke's customisation programme. The process first needs to create and then use precision-sculpted mouldings of the interior components, and then the specialists have to use a blend of both traditional and modern techniques to produce what's basically a 'mirror' of the factory dashboard appearance and its steering assembly.



Of course, this most outrageous version of the F-150 doesn't come cheap to start off with, but add into the mix the cost of shipping to Europe, import duty, VAT and then the conversion, and your right-hand drive Raptor will set you back an eye-watering £106,800 (RM585,000) if you're a private buyer.

It took some six months for Sutton's team to develop the right-hand drive steering rack, but they didn't stop with just the latest F-150 Raptor. They've also done the same thing with the Lincoln Navigator, although that could look to be quite reasonably priced at the side of the Raptor as the Navigator has a retail price of £114,950 (RM629,000) for the luxury full-size SUV.

sc/cm - Relaxnews

Keywords