The Ranger Raptor has been a forbidden fruit in the U.S. for the longest time. There are hushed talks that it will be coming here soon, but we’ll leave that aside for now. The bigger scoop right now is that a Ranger Raptor R might be in the works! To put it simply, we might have a Ranger with a V-8 engine coming soon. But, we’ll take it with a pinch of salt because this is coming from the same company that didn’t give us a V-8 Bronco.
Who Told Us That A Ranger Raptor Is Coming?
The rumor comes from CarsGuide, an Australian publication. The company noted that Ford’s executives have hinted at coming up with a badass version of the Ranger; a true-blue badass version, not one for namesake
The publication spoke to Trevor Worthington, the company’s Vice-President of Global Product Development, and Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. The idea of a Ranger Raptor R comes after seeing the success of the Bronco Desert Racer. CarsGuide noted that when asked about a V-8 powered Ranger, Mr. Rushbrook nodded. Mr. Worthington, on the other hand, connected the dots. He said,
Will It Come To The U.S.?
We still don’t have the Ranger Raptor here, so the Ranger Raptor R is a long shot; for now, at least. Also, this is more of a Ford Australia initiative. Mr. Worthington also kind of suggested the same. He said,
What Could It Look Like?
It’s all speculation at the moment, but it all started with how the Bronco DR has been accepted by the public with wide arms open and how it may lay the seeds for a Ranger Raptor R. Perhaps, the Ranger Raptor R might be a slightly toned-down version of the Bronco DR. To give you an idea, this is what the Bronco DR is all about:
- Modified chassis to handle all the abuse
- Resin transfer molded fiberglass race body
- Full-safety roll cage with integrated ACCRA tubes
- Positional Selective DSSV Dampers with 80-millimeter bodies with finned fluid cooling channels
- Multimatic-designed billet aluminum lower control arms
- Tubular metal front bumper, a single-piece grille, and production-spec headlights, taillights, and trail sights
- 17-inch beadlock wheels wrapped in 37-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 tires
- Large air intakes on the upper sides and on the roof. Rear-mounted radiator
- Side panels instead of doors
- Distinctive Bronco race livery of red, white, black, and blue (won’t be applicable to the Ranger Raptor R, though)
- Powered by the third-gen 5.0-liter, naturally aspirated V-8 Coyote mill
- Estimated power output - 400 horses
- 10-speed automatic gearbox four-wheel-drive system. transfer case with on-the-fly electric shift
- Independent electronically locking front and rear differential with 4.70:1 final drive ratios
- Priced in the mid-$200,000 range
- Limited to 50 examples and will arrive in late 2022
Conclusion
We will take this news with a pinch of salt for now, but we hope the ideation is executed. That said, we also hope it will be offered in the States, although the chances are very bleak. The Ranger Raptor is what we need to get, but instead, Ford is making up for it by giving us special editions and the Ranger Tremor package. There are some wild speculations that the Ranger Raptor could also be called the ‘Splash’. Let us hope that anything Raptor-related to the Ranger starts making progress, whether it’s the Ranger Raptor in the U.S., or the Ranger Raptor R in Australia.
What are your thoughts on this? Share them with us in the comments section.