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If you pay any attention to the news, odds are you’ve heard about NASA’s recent successful Mars rover landing. After years of careful building and preparation, the rover, dubbed Curiosity, touched down on the rocky surface of the Red Planet. What you may not know is that this rover is the largest yet, at approximately the size of a small passenger vehicle. Since we always have trucks on the mind, this got us thinking: are there any Earthly production vehicles that compare to the Curiosity’s go-anywhere ruggedness? We could think of only one: the F-150 SVT Raptor.
Now, before you go calling us crazy, we realize these vehicles have some massive differences. The rover’s price tag, for example, is—pun intended—out of this world. With a total program cost of $2.5 billion (yes, you read that right) you could buy a whopping 56,857 2013 SVT Raptors for the same money. Also, the Curiosity isn’t exactly a speed demon. Its top speed of approximately 0.09 mph pales in comparison to the SVT’s 100 mph limit.
However, there are more similarities than you might think. The rover’s height and width are similar to the Raptor, although it’s only half as long. The motors’ outputs are also in the same ballpark, with the Curiosity’s Plutonium-reactor-powered electric motors producing 500 lb-ft of torque at the wheels, compared to the Raptor 6.2L V-8’s 434 lb-ft. Since the ballers at NASA spared no expense on the rover, it’s rolling on 20-inch rims with metal cleat treads. SVT, on the other hand, chose some more Earth-friendly 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels for the 2013 Raptor. Both vehicles were also designed with suspension travel in mind, with the Raptor’s 12-inches of travel vying against the rover’s impressive 43-inch setup. For added visibility, the Raptor has a pair of front and rear cameras, while the unmanned Curiosity has 14.
At this point, you may be thinking that this comparison is a little ridiculous. That may be true, but it does prove an important point: the updated 2013 SVT Raptor packs a serious punch, even when compared to a multi-billion-dollar space-traveling robot. And that’s certainly good enough for us.
For more info on the 2013 SVT Raptor and Mars rover check out the infographic below.
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