The world will finally be treated to the unveiling of the Ford Ranger Raptor come this February 7th. Because the new high performance variant will, like its counterparts within the range, be built in Thailand, the venue is set to be in the capital city of Bangkok before being projected for wider multi-region showroom debut in the second half of 2018.
In the time between it was first rumoured to when it was actually announced by the American automaker to now, details have slowly dripped into view. We know, for example, that the Ranger Raptor will be powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbocharged diesel unit from Ford’s new EcoBlue family of engines.
Built on top of the current generation T6 Ranger, we also know that it will indeed bring many of the defining visual and mechanical changes that were put forth in the F-150 Raptor to the smaller truck, namely the more aggressive styling and more advanced suspension, simultaneously increasing ride height and improving handling for both on-road and off-road driving.
However, the exact numbers associated with this engine had been a murky pool until now. Naturally, it won’t be as impressive as the bi-turbo 3.5-litre V6 petrol from the F-150, but perhaps Ford could extract some surprising punch from the relatively small oiler.
According to Headlightmag.com of Thailand, who seem to have gotten some additional insight into how exactly the Ranger Raptor will be offered to buyers, there will be two tiers of output from the same 2.0-litre EcoBlue, codename Panther: 141kW or 160kW. It’s unclear why they’ve been separated in this manner and it’s possible that some markets will only receive one choice of engine tune (hopefully the higher).
Peak torque should be near or north of the Wildtrak’s 470Nm, and both will have a redline set at 4,500rpm as visible in the teaser videos released before while sharing the same 10-speed automatic transmission regardless. From there, both variants should have an identical suspension setup and all-wheel drive system. Ford is also introducing new Drive Modes specific to the Raptor, which should mirror its F-150 cousin: Normal, Sport, All-Weather, Mud, Baja, and Rock/Gravel.
Obviously, the Ranger Raptor will be the range topper in whichever market it enters, and thus priced above the current top spec Wildtrak. Like the larger F-150 Raptor, the Ranger Raptor aims to justify that not only with the additional performance and ‘go-anywhere-fast’ drive, but also with a more fully decked list of standard equipment and a generally higher level of interior luxury - albeit with a sporty twist.
We’re still on the fence on whether the overall package will have the raw credentials to tempt buyers, or whether it truly deserves the Raptor name. Our guess is that the draw of a high performance ute, as well as the impetus to own one, comes from a desire for a viscerally heightened experience, even at low speed. The question now is whether Ford can massage their EcoBlue unit into a motor worthy of emotion.
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