If you look back on the past decade within the off-road industry to find the most influential additions, there have been two segments of off-road that come to mind and have gained tremendous popularity – side by sides and Ford Raptors. The side by side market, which started out with the Yamaha Rhino and then quickly evolved to the Polaris RZR, has experienced an immense amount of growth, especially over the last five years. Starting out as ranch-hand vehicles that were converted into off-road enthusiast toys, there are countless side by sides now on the market that are built specifically for the off-road enthusiast.
One of the most influential side by sides is the recently released Polaris RZR XP1000 which for all intents and purposes is one hell of an off-road car for a weekend warrior to have fun in. Even better, with some simple modifications, enthusiasts are able to get their feet wet in desert racing by entering their vehicles into dedicated side by side classes. Despite the cost, some of which go north of $24,000, the side by side market has exploded, and for good reason.
On the other end of the price and size spectrum is the Ford Raptor, the truck that was remarkably influential in both the half-ton truck market as well as the off-road market in general. From the power of the 6.2-liter V8 to the ad campaigns that showed the Raptor flying through the air like BJ Baldwin in one of his Recoil videos, the Raptor made a name for itself and has been very popular.
With two very popular segments of off-road at hand, what if the two segments came together? You might be asking yourself what a Polaris RZR XP1000 has in common with a Ford Raptor aside from the fact that they are used to go fast off-road. Well, for one lucky professional driver named Rhys Millen, he brought the two words together in his latest YouTube release titled “On Any Weekend.”
The name “On Any Weekend” is a spinoff of the notoriously-awesome Bruce Brown documentary named “On Any Sunday” that paid homage to the pioneers who started the sport of motocross. Featuring Steeve McQueen and other top-shelf motorcyclist of the era, “On Any Sunday” was a cult classic and a pillar in the off-road community.
With a name like “On Any Weekend,” this YouTube short had some big shoes to fill, which it did quite well. With only a minute and a half of footage, we get to see first had what it would be like to combine a Ford Raptor and a Polaris RZR. What appears to be a seemingly stock XP1000 was fitted with a complete Ford Raptor body, Method Race wheels, Rigid Industries lights, and a host of other features.
Millen, known for driving just about anything with wheels and attempting to backflip a short course truck, can be seen flying through the desert in the mini-Raptor and even has time to stop for lunch. While it is very unlikely that this mini-Raptor is anything that will be production-based, it still serves as a great way of combining the two off-road genres in truly stylish fashion.
If the mini-Raptor seems like something you would like to see more footage of, let us know in the comments below!