Ford hasn’t confirmed the Raptor Ranger for the United States and it has really started burning everyone’s biscuit. The same is likely true in Canada — except for Quebec, where they would assumedly prefer the croissant. However, the collective annoyance doesn’t stem from fears that the middle-weight Raptor won’t make it to North America, as there’s already too much evidence to the contrary. Everybody just wants Ford to stop playing hard-to-get and cough up the details on their new pickup.
Using the Gamescom event in Cologne, Germany as a launching platform, Ford unveiled the Euro-spec Ranger Raptor to the public on Tuesday. While we’re still a little confused by the industry’s growing fascination with debuting new models alongside car-related video games, it is of little consequence. We don’t mind hearing about how it will be in the new Forza Horizon 4 as long as we get to hear some technical details.
Unfortunately, we ended up a little disappointed there. While Ford’s mention of off-road BF Goodrich tires, upgraded front suspension with Fox Racing shock absorbers, aluminum control arms, and fresh Watt’s linkage system were handy tidbits of info, details about the engine were not.
That’s because the Euro Ranger Raptor will come with a “bi-turbo 2.0-litre” EcoBlue diesel when it goes on sale next summer. The odds of that unit coming to America are on par with you growing an extra set of hands and using them to scratch off the jackpot on a lottery ticket purchased on the same day. Alright, it’s probably more likely than that. But we would still be very surprised if showed up stateside and absolutely flabbergasted if it were the only engine option.
Like the Australian version, the diesel model produces 210 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque and sends it to all four wheels through the increasingly popular 10-speed automatic gearbox.
“Forget everything you think you know about pick-ups,” said Leo Roeks, Ford performance director for Europe, in a corporate statement. “Our new Ranger Raptor is a different breed — a thoroughbred desert racer and extreme lifestyle off-roader that can toil with the best of them in the harshest of working conditions.”
It certainly looks the part. There’s a junior version of the F-150 Raptor grille, flared fenders, skid plate, bolstered seats, magnesium paddle shifters, and new LED fog lamps with functional air-curtain ducts to complete the baja aesthetic. You can also select one of six Terrain Management modes to help you on whatever surface you’re interested in tackling. That includes everything from normal driving to low-speed rock crawls and high-speed desert blasts.
We’d imagine it’s probably quite capable in the dirt, but it’s not going to offer a blistering 0-to-60 time on pavement. The Aussie-spec Raptor Ranger takes over 10 seconds to hit highway speeds, topping out around 105 mph, and we expect the European version to be no different. Of course, that information probably irrelevant to us.
[Images: Ford Motor Co.]
Of COURSE we’re not going to see the Ranger Raptor here… Not for at least another year to 18 months. Ford wants to see: A) How well received the Ranger is overall; and B) How much they think they can get for a Raptor that may ultimately out-sell the full-sized version.
Because Europeans have waited a long time for something suitable to run the vast Bavarian Desert and now they have the answer
Because of global warming Bavarian Desert is a very real possibility in next twenty years. Russian also can create one if get annoyed buy sanctions.
Better buy a Tesla instead.
We will likely get a 2.3L 4-Cylinder Ecoboost out of an ST model.
No way they can fit the 2.7L Ecoboost, which would turn it into an absolutely hot rod of a truck. That same engine in the much bigger F150 Supercrew 4×4 was recently tested by a major magazine doing 0-60 in 5.7 seconds! Imagine what it could do in the Ranger.
However, the US Ranger is just a slightly restyled World Ranger (like all the mid-sized trucks), which means it won’t fit any 6 cylinder motors that Ford has. This was already confirmed by Ford earlier.
The largest motor Ford currently has in any Ranger is the 3.2L I5 diesel.
No V6 for an off road beast pushing 5,000 lbs? I doubt the diesel would make a big splash in the US. And this is supposed to be an SVT?
But if you want a factory Hot Rod, the 2.7 is available for the base, barely 4,000 lbs, 3.73 geared and limited slip optioned F-150. Can you say 0-60 in the 4 second range?
So is the 5.0. And it’s all perfectly legal. Except you have to tell them you want it optioned like that to haul goats to auction.
“Forget everything you think you know about pick-ups,” said Leo Roeks, Ford performance director for Europe, in a corporate statement. “Our new Ranger Raptor is a different breed — a thoroughbred desert racer and extreme lifestyle off-roader that can toil with the best of them in the harshest of working conditions.”
I love this truck despite never having met it, but this is some real phony-baloney marketing crapola. How does one sleep at night having written a statement like this?
I can only imagine what JohnTaurus would say if this were in a Tacoma TRD Pro article. But it’s a Ford. They don’t make Xtreme lifestyle poseur mobiles and if the F150 Raptor’s payload rating is any indication, this little guy will also be bought for work, used for work.
The phony-baloney marketing stuff is probably what the product development teams were telling themselves while they designed the truck.
When you’re a designer or engineer, having the managers tell you that you don’t have to *blindly* follow the conventions of pickup truck design probably is a good thing. But, yeah, from our perspective it’s still a BOF pickup truck- with four wheels and a pickup bed.
I can only imagine what your reaction would be if it was a non-American brand saying the same thing. It wouldn’t be as cynical as your reply here, I’d bet real money on it.
Eye roll.
I pointed out that the silly speech was a leak of the internal pep talk, because I once worked in a Fortune 500 company.
That sort of thing just happens at big companies.
Big companies are deliberately built as miniature cultural bubbles, and the stuff they tell employees to get the results they want can sound pretty silly outside of the employee-context.
As for your assertion that I hold American companies to a higher standard, I don’t think so. Ford is my favorite American brand, and I’ve owned three of their vehicles (which is a record for me personally). I also like other brands — I’ve owned Hondas, Toyotas, a Mitsubishi, a Volkswagen, and a Mazda. I’ve seriously considered owning both a Volt and a Bolt from GM, and I aspire to be able to own a Tesla soon. I’m also looking for a family friendly towbeast, which pretty much means a Tahoe. I’m low on the brand loyalty scale, but the only brand that I dislike is Volkswagen, because their car was crap — the rest of the cars I’ve owned were pretty good for their intended purpose. (I’m not too fond of luxury brands, either.) Now that you understand my context, I think the reason we don’t hear this kind of silly talk from foreign carmakers is because of the language barrier. Their people probably say the same crazy stuff, but it’s just not important enigh to translate.
Saw a Ranger with Mexican plates the other day. Cool truck. Perfect size. Dunno if it’s going to be the same as the US one or not — but that truck looked like it is was going to sell extremely well.
Germans are usually too sophisticated to fall for a crudely engineered trucks like this.
The Ranger regularly beats the German’s own Amarok in genuine, non-biased, reviews.
The engineering on these IS world class!
“German Engineering” = “How ridiculously over-complicated can we design something yet still have it work for a short time?”
Soon to be the best built, best selling midsize pickup in the USA. Great job Ford you NAILED IT!
Already the most widely sold Australian designed vehicle and no doubt will be the best selling Australian designed vehicle ever.
You mean it was not even designed in the US. Ford can’t even produce a competitive truck in the US.
How low will Ford go.
So low as to put the blue oval on vehicles designed and built by, you know, Ford? It’s almost like Ford of Europe, Ford of Australia and all the rest are the same company. Who knew?
*Yawn*
Wake me up when they offer the 5.0
5.0L in this would be awesome!
I doubt you will ever see the 5.0 in the new Ranger unless it is an aftermarket modification.
Hope some of this goes into the Bronco
This is a working vehicle, not a sports car. I fail to see why the 0-62 mph times need to be on the level of a sports car.
Hate to say it, Tom, but pickup trucks today are luxury vehicles first, working vehicles second–unless you choose to buy a Work Truck edition which, in many ways, is worse than a “stripper.”
Yes, there are those who use them for “real work” but they only account for about 25% of all sales. Were it not for their luxury appointments and the fact that they’re as big and plush as the old full-sized luxury cars, they wouldn’t be as popular as they are. When the OEMs abandoned the BoF full-sized cars, said owners went to the biggest thing available, the trucks, and the OEMs coddled them by making them more plush than ever.
Vulpine,
Interesting input. Thank you.
From a European perspective pickups are working vehicles first – and that is it. The idea of a luxury pickup is almost incomprehensible here.
But for those who want a luxurious pickup there is the Dodge RAM and Ford F-Series’ which are available here, and of course luxury trim levels for the Volkswagen Amarok and Mercedes X-Klasse.
Trucks by there very nature are not luxury or sports cars. Their handling and drivability are sub par. A truck cannot turn a lick.
Stay hard man
Depends on the truck. A big crew-cab Road Whale™ is certainly as bad as you claim; the older, more compact trucks are extremely agile by comparison.
The driving and handling of the land yachts of the 60’s and 70’s were sub par and they could not turn a lick but many were sold. On an interstate a vehicle does not have to drive and handle as well but the smooth ride is what is most valued. As Vulpine has stated the body on frame luxury pick is today’s replacement for the luxury land yacht of the past. Most of these luxury pickups will never go off road.