American automaker Ford has confirmed the Ranger Raptor for 2018! This vehicle will join the line-up, and it will arrive in Asia-Pacific markets in 2018!
The Ford Ranger Raptor will stand beside the larger F-150 Raptor in the Blue Oval’s global off-road performance line of vehicles however we still don’t know what it will feature under the hood.
Trevor Worthington, vice president of product development for Ford Asia Pacific said: ‘We are very excited to bring Asia Pacific’s toughest and smartest pickup truck to a whole new level.’
He then went on to add how the upcoming truck will offer car lovers great opportunity to possess an off-road high-performance vehicle. ‘Ford Ranger Raptor will offer Ranger fans a fantastic opportunity to own an authentic off-road performance version of their favorite truck for the first time.’
In 2015 our colleagues from CarAdvice first released the story about the Ranger Raptor which was followed by a set of spy shots and a video. Recently spy photographers in the US spotted and took some photos of a prototype that was tested. In those pictures, we discerned the multi-link coil-sprung rear suspension setup that has Watt’s linkage, big BF Goodrich 285/70 R17 All-Terrain TA tires and rear disc brakes. The aforementioned tires are said to raise the Ranger’s ground clearance from 225mm to 254mm.
On the other hand, we stumbled upon dozens of rumors about the engine and its power. In the beginning, there was a rumor that a prototype spotted in Australia had a petrol V6 under the hood. That would imply that the company used the 336kW/690Nm 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 that is rumored to be featured in F-150 Raptor.
This would all be fine, but recently there have been claims that the vehicle spied in the US sounded more like a diesel. If that proves to be the truth the Raptor could maybe feature a more powerful variation of the 147kW/470Nm 3.2-liter five-cylinder oil burner. We don’t know how sound these rumors are, but they have resulted in thousands of debates online, so we won’t go into the probability of these two any further.
Considering that we don’t know what will be under the hood of the upcoming Raptor we do know that it will feature Ford’s new 10-speed automatic transmission which was co-developed with General Motors (GM).
The company also released a statement recently where they described the upcoming Raptor. ‘The Ford Ranger Raptor sports a head-turning exterior look that exudes toughness as well as a level of capability and off-road performance never before seen in the mid-size pickup truck segment.’
What do you think about the upcoming Ranger Raptor? What is the more likely option for the engine? Let us know in the comments section below!
