What do you do when you finish up track testing of your Ford Fiesta ST race car ahead-of-schedule in Belgium? Well, if you're motorsports celebrity and Top Gear USA co-host Tanner Foust, you take a Ford F-150 SVT Raptor to Germany's Nürburgring, of course.
If the Nürburgring seems like a strange place to drive a Raptor, well, it is. Typically the native domain of high-priced exotics and future street machines, the appearance of Ford's all-American truck icon caused quite a stir when it rolled into Germany's famous course.
With soft, long-travel suspension optimized for the bounding through the dunes of the American desert Southwest, the Raptor wasn't exactly the model of composure on the 'Ring, floating, bobbing and drifting through the turns. But Foust said the locals loved seeing the Raptor on the track, which was a welcome change from the usual fare of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, BMW M-Series and Mercedes-Benz AMGs (yawn). Pickup trucks are a relative rarity in Europe, and the full-size pickup is completely unknown on the continent, making the limited-edition, flared-fender Raptor even more of an exotic treat. You can watch a short video on Foust's Black Forest mischief below.
Source: Ford