Ford just released a third teaser video for its highly anticipated Ranger Raptor. The scripted text emblazed over the moving shots of a camouflaged test mule bombing over terrain say the Ranger Raptor is “Ready for… speed, water, sand, hills, mud, jumps, and anything,” The last phrase then says it’s ready for its reveal. That’s right; the time is growing short for Ford to officially unveil the Ranger Raptor in all its glory.
The event is taking place on February 7, 2018, at Bangkok Auto Show in Thailand. While Thailand might seem an odd choice rather than the U.S. or Australia, the country actually has quite the love for pickups and off-roading. No worries, though, both Americans and Australians will soon have Ranger Raptors arriving in their showrooms.
While Ford hasn’t even hinted at the powerplant under the Ranger Raptor’s hood, a report from Motoring suggests the truck is getting an all-new 2.0-liter high-output four-cylinder turbodiesel. The specific output wasn’t announced, but the new (Power Stroke?) turbodiesel would be more powerful than the current 3.2-liter inline-five turbodiesel, which makes 197 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque. The report also says Ford’s new 10-speed automatic transmission will be the sole gearbox.
While the 10-speed auto is an obvious component, the small-displacement four-cylinder turbodiesel is a stretch – at least for U.S.-bound Ranger Raptors. Ford’s peppy 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 or even the standard-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 would be a more plausible engine for North America. It seems we’ll have to wait until February 7 to find out.
Expect the Ranger Raptor to arrive in U.S. showrooms as a 2019 model sometime in the first half of next year. Prices are expected to compete with the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, which starts at $40,400 and increases with options. Perhaps Ford will also offer a turbodiesel and gasoline engine option, just like the Colorado ZR2, as well. Again, tune in to TopSpeed.com on February 7 for all the details.
References
Read our full speculative review on the 2019 Ford Ranger Raptor.
Ford Ranger
Read our full review on the 2019 Ford Ranger.
Read more Ford news.