The Ford F-150 Raptor has become a modern off-roading icon, so Ford decided to give its smaller Ranger pickup truck the Raptor treatment. After months of teasing with camouflaged trucks running around the desert, Ford finally took the wraps off the Ranger Raptor. But the company won’t say whether this downsized off-roader will be sold in the United States.
Like its bigger sibling, the Ford Ranger Raptor looks tougher thanks to flared fenders and numerous other changes to the body. The result is a truck that’s both wider and taller than a standard Raptor, with an impressive 11.1 inches of ground clearance. The macho fender flares help accommodate larger wheels and tires, and the Ranger Raptor boasts approach and departure angles of 32.5 degrees and 24 degrees, respectively, which should keep the truck from ripping off its own bodywork while negotiating obstacles.
Under the skin, the Ranger Raptor gets a stiffened frame and upgraded suspension. Like the F-150 Raptor, the Ranger uses shock absorbers supplied by Fox Racing. Another item borrowed from the F-150 is the Terrain Management System. This allows the driver to tweak different vehicle parameters based on the terrain, and includes six modes: Normal and Sport for on-road driving, and Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Sand, Rock, and Baja for off-roading.
The engine is a 2.0-liter, twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel, mated to the same 10-speed automatic transmission used in the F-150 Raptor. With 210 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, the Ranger Raptor can’t match the F-150 Raptor’s 450 hp. But it compares well to the 2.8-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder in the similarly sized Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, which develops 181 hp and an identical 369 lb-ft.
That brings us to the big question: Will the Ranger Raptor be sold in the U.S.? While the standard Ranger will return to American showrooms later this year, Ford did not say anything about selling the Raptor here. Ford Performance chief vehicle engineer Jamal Hameedi subsequently told Australian publication Drive that he thought the Raptor would be a hit in U.S., but that it would need a gasoline engine. That shouldn’t be a problem, as Ford has plenty to choose from.
This indicates Ford is at least thinking about selling the Ranger Raptor in the U.S. But since Ford already sells the F-150 Raptor here, Hameedi said the company will focus on other markets first.
