It’s the mini Ranger Raptor that anyone who needs to tow and carry and go off bush really wants.

Ford Australia has officially confirmed that a new Ranger model is on its way, showing what appears to be a homegrown version of the Ranger Tremor released to the North American market.

While the US version is obviously left-hand drive and has a petrol V6 engine, the Aussie version will differ, having a diesel motor and potentially a different name – FX4 Max.

The name change is not known, but it is a model nameplate that Ford Australia has registered locally – and Tremor is not.

Looking at the video shown on Ford Australia’s official Facebook page, we can also see that it is indeed mostly the same as the Tremor. And that makes the FX4 Max a mini Raptor, but with a top-of-class 3.5-tonne tow and one-tonne towing capacity.

From the clips we’ve grabbed, you can see it has the same off-road-tuned Fox 2.0 monotube dampers with rear piggyback reservoirs, in the US this joins lifted suspension, specially tuned front coilovers and rear leaf springs. It also has 32-inch Continental General Grabber all-terrain tyres though this is not clear on the local model, with it seeming to be fitted with BF Goodrich rubber on 17-inch black alloys. This brings a one-inch wider stance.

We also see that there are unique side steps as per the Tremor in the US, Raptor-style tucked-up tow bar for increased clearance when off-roading, and six auxiliary switches on the dash for hooking up winches, light bars and air compressors.

We also see a glimpse of the tachometer and gearshift. Strangely, the gearshift appears to be the item from the 3.2-litre, six-speed auto drivetrain with up and downshift override buttons. However, the tachometer shown is the same as the 2.0-litre bi-turbo and different from the 3.2L. We’ll just have to wait and see on this one.

The bottom line is that this is a heavily rigged up Ranger with much great capability off-road, but it does not sacrifice the one-tonne towing capacity and payload capacity that the Ranger Raptor does (due to its coil-sprung rear-end).

Finally, we see the front with red stripes on the bonnet, clearly indicating that this is indeed a Tremor for Australia, even if it does have a different name.

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