The Ranger Raptor Makes its Debut

There were teaser videos and looks of the pickup truck that we expect to be the performance model from Ford in the midsize segment released. These videos showed us what a Ranger Raptor could look like and what it might be capable of as it heads out to tear up the wilderness, but we weren’t sure when it would arrive. The new Ford Ranger Raptor has made its global debut in Thailand and even though it won’t be the model brought to the US, this debut opens the door to the possibility we’ll see one in the future.This global spec model of the Ranger Raptor showed itself with a 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine that is capable of 210 horsepower and 368 lb.-ft. of torque while being attached to the same ten-speed automatic transmission that we see in the F-150 models. The power is aided by a Terrain Management System that has six different drive modes including Normal, Sport, Grass, Gravel, Snow, Rock, and Baha modes. You can even choose a Desert Rally mode in this truck to help you handle the loose surfaces and maintain an impressive amount of speed.

Performance for the Wilderness

While we won’t likely ever see the diesel model of the Ranger Raptor, or if we do it will be in a different form than this one, the item that’s most impressive about this truck is the suspension. This truck rides on a frame that was specially created for the challenges of off-road driving and brings you a coilover rear suspension with a Watt’s link and a solid rear axle. UP front you have a Position Sensitive Damping set of Fox Racing shocks which are mounted using forged aluminum upper arms and cast aluminum lower arms. The braking is also impressive with twin-piston calipers and 13-inch ventilated front and rear rotors. This truck rides on all-terrain BF Goodrich tires to give you the appropriate amount of performance on and off the road.Other items that help to give the performance desired in this new Ranger Raptor includes a thick steel skidplate, dual front recovery hooks, transfer case undershields, anengine undershield, the Ford Sync3 infotainment system, satellite navigation, an eight-inch display screen, a full list of driver assistance features, roll mitigation, trailer sway control, hill start assist, hill descent control, and a rearview camera for the items needed for the drive.Will the Ford Ranger Raptor make its way to the US? If this truck is successful in the global markets it’s certainly a possibility. Right now, this truck is slated to be sold in Australia and the Asia-Pacific markets beginning later in the year. There’s certainly a buzz about this truck and plenty of call for Ford to bring more for the Ranger to the North American market as this truck finally makes its return to the roads of its domestic home. It seems like it would make a lot of sense for Ford to bring this version of the Ranger to the US, but we won’t know if they will until the global model shows the desired success.