Ford has taken the wraps off its next generation of bakkie, and the first to offer an indication as to what’s under the hood, is the Ranger Raptor. It will feature a wonderfully impressive 3.0l twin-turbocharged petrol engine. The diesel variant will only make it to certain markets, as vehicle manufacturers scale down on the variant.
We reported that the new Ranger will be produced at Ford’s Silverton facility in South Africa when production starts later this year. But this one specifically will be sourced from Thailand.
That petrol engine offers an impressive 292 kW and 583Nm power output, making it 85% more powerful than its predecessor. A total of 135 kW and 83 Nm more than the first-gen Ranger Raptor. This one shouldn’t suffer from overtaking anxiety, that’s for sure.
Along with the announcement, Ford’s offered a helping of Raptor goodness in the video embedded below, showing off the new bakkie’s design. It’s offering a slightly amended design from its predecessor, bringing in some hints of the F-150.
A Raptor fit for my garage
The #NextGenRangerRaptor has landed! 🔥
Watch the full reveal here 👇https://t.co/qHWkYUU9Zj#FordRangerRaptor pic.twitter.com/2z14DO11fo
— Ford News Europe (@FordNewsEurope) February 22, 2022
In addition to more power and a redesigned look, Ford continues its longstanding partnership with American suspension technology supplier, Fox. This one in particular is getting a fancy intelligent suspension system called the Fox 2.5in Live Valve Internal Bypass shock absorbers with position-sensitive damping capability. They’re designed to make offroad scenarios more enjoyable. These oversized Fox dampers offer increased absorption capability – perfect for South African pot-hole ridden rural (and urban, these days) roads.
Expect to see full four-wheel drive on this one, including a new electronically controlled on-demand 2-speed transfer case in combination with the front and rear locking differentials.
Other cool additions are the 17in wheels, cast-aluminium sidesteps, a 12.4in infotainment cluster on the inside along with a Bang & Olufsen sound system.
We’re expecting to see more variants in this new Ranger range to turn up soon, but if we were going for a first look, it would’ve been this one. The Raptor’s new engine flavour offers power never seen before in a double-cab bakkie. Once we have local info, we’ll let you know.
Source: Cars