Ranger Raptor Revealed

OFF-ROAD SPECIAL SET TO SCORCH THE OUTBACK.

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FOLLOWING a year of speculation and spy shots, the Ford Ranger Raptor has been revealed, making its debut in Thailand. Aside from the bold, wide-body styling of the bespoke Raptor, the big reveal was the powertrain with a 157kW/500Nm, 2.0-litre, bi-turbo diesel, four-cylinder engine filling the engine bay, backed by a 10-speed automatic transmission adapted from the F-150 Raptor. There is no petrol engine option for Australia, nor is there a version of the 3.2L diesel that is a favourite with Ranger buyers here. Ford representatives at the reveal fielded numerous versions of the same question regarding a petrol powerplant, but would not be drawn on rumours of a V6 petrol for the North American market, to coincide with the re-launch of Ranger into the USA.

The 2.0L engine makes more power and torque than the five-cylinder 3.2L and, according to Dep Ed Justin Walker, who scored a July 2017 ride in the Raptor during its development phase (see page 28 for the full story), the bi-turbo is more than enough to add excitement to the ute.

Jamal Hameedi, Chief Engineer, Ford Performance, was at the Thailand reveal and said this bi-turbo engine and the 10-speed auto (co-developed between Ford and GM) were the choices from day one.

“There was the bi-turbo, 10-speed, and there was the bi-turbo, 10-speed,” he said. “We wanted the best diesel available that we could get our hands on.”

Hameedi also reckoned once people get a drive in the Raptor, the performance question will become moot.

“You gotta drive it,” he enthused. “It’s quite surprising; you take that [the bi-turbo 2.0L] and you couple it with the 10-speed, which you’re getting a lot of gear multiplication out of... It’s pretty darn impressive.”