The 2018 Ford Ranger Raptor will be revealed on February 7 and has been teased in a new video showing it tackling a range of different terrain.
FORD IS STILL SAYING very little about the Ranger Raptor but we know it will be revealed on February 7 and that it’s intended for high-speed shenanigans off-road. Media outlets in Australia and the US have speculated heavily on what we can expect from the more-power Ranger.
Some are suggesting a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel mated to an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission will be under the bonnet, and others a high-power 3.2-litre turbo-diesel with the 10-speed auto. There have been some spy shots of the Ranger Raptor sporting aggressive BF Goodrich tyres, and Practical Motoring understands the Australian Ranger Raptor will sit on the same black 17-inch cast aluminum wheels fitted to the F-150 Raptor with 315/70 R17 BF Goodrich All-Terrain TA KO2 tyres… We’ll get the same tyre but in thinner 285/70 profile. This tyre upgrade should mean more ground clearance.
It’s understood the shocks will be beefed up, like they are on the F-150 Raptor but whether the Ranger will get Fox Racing Shox or something else is unknown at this stage. It is understood, based on spy photos that the Ranger Raptor will sit on a tweaked version of the T6 ladder frame chassis under the Everest rather than the standard Ranger chassis, offering a variant of the Everest’s multi-link and coil spring rear-end to improve ride and handling.
Confirmed in a video on Facebook, the Ranger Raptor will get a drive mode selector mimicking the one in the F-150 Raptor, offering a Baja Mode…
What’s Baja Mode? Think of it as a track mode for the Raptor. What we expect it to do in the Ranger is to place the vehicle into 4×4 high or even 4×2, relax the traction control for greater slip angles in corners and sharpen the throttle response and ensure the gearbox holds onto gears for as long as possible before changing up.
We’ll have more news when the Ranger Raptor is revealed in February 7.
