WHOLE NEW ΒΑJΑ GAME

HUGELY CAPABLE, FEROCIOUSLY FAST AND LOADS OF FUN: FORD'S SECOND-GEN RANGER RAPTOR REWRITES THE SCRIPT

- ALEX INWOOD

Righto, mate, lift your elbows ... NOW!” So comes the shouted command from the driver’s seat as the new Ford Ranger Raptor rushes at the base of the jump. There’s a jolt, a momentary pause as the suspension compresses and then … silence.

We fly through the air at 130km/h, like a house brick jettisoned into low orbit, the Raptor soaring flat and true before the ground rushes up. I wince and lift my arms clear of the bucket seat – we’re in an early Raptor prototype fitted with a roll-cage and race seats and smashing funny bones is a real risk – but then … nothing. The Raptor lands with the grace and poise of a jungle cat.

“Nice, huh?” shouts my driver with what I assume is a grin behind his helmet. “It’s like a rally car!” He emphasises the last point by hurling Ford’s all-new performance ute at another jump. I nod and lift my elbows.

Welcome to Loveday 4x4 Park, a sprawling off-road adventure park in outback South Australia where Ford is giving the new Raptor its final engineering sign-off. By the time you read this the new Raptor will be on sale, for the princely sum of $85,490 (we’ll get to why this is actually a positive thing later) but right now Ford’s Australian engineering team is busy making some last-minute tweaks before it enters full-scale production. And today, we’re tagging along for the ride.