We were just on the Rubicon 2 weeks ago and not a single new Bronco. Dozens and dozens of Jeeps from lightly modded rubicons to 40"+ tires and 1 tons. Buggies, built Toyotas, a handful of Samurais, a couple built early broncos, several XJ's, a few ZJ's and WJ's, and even a wagoneer which made me happy to see. Literally 100+ rigs and 0 Bronco presence to be seen.
The extra 100lb engine weight probably is not so good for jumping or whoops though? The 7.3 just isn't a go fast engine, right tool for the right job. Add a tune to the ecoboost if you want closer to 392 power and haul ass in the dirt like the thing was designed to do.
I’m seeing 740lbs for the 6.4L, the 7.3L is 540lbs.
When would Ford put a 392 in the Raptor? The 3.5 ecoboost is 100lbs lighter, making the Raptor much better at what it was designed for than if they had used the Godzilla motor. It doesn't need the low end torque of a big V8 and is much better served with the higher revving smaller motor for it's use.
There’s no real desert on the East Coast. I spent 18 years in SoCal and Arizona. Going to the desert is fun and awesome. If you think a Raptor or 392 are expensive, you’ve got to check out a sand rail! Sooo, much fun though.
In my opinion the long travel of the Bronco Raptor not only makes it better at high speeds than the standard Bronco, it makes it better in the rocks too. The width may be an issue on some trails, but most buggies these days are every bit as wide if not wider. If you wanted to run high speeds in the desert primarily and still be able to run difficult rock trails in the same vehicle, it's probably the best thing on the market. The shorter wheelbase will hurt it at high speeds but make it vastly better on technical trails than the F150 version or TRX could ever hope to be. In the rocks the Wrangler still wins, but I'm willing to bet the Raptor closes that gap vs the standard Bronco.