American fans of the Ford Ranger Raptor, including us, have been disappointed that we won't see the current one in North America. As for the next-generation Ranger Raptor, hope springs eternal, especially now that Road & Track dug up some interesting information. And it squares with what we've heard from deeply embedded sources, too.
According to R&T, both the next-generation Ranger and the Ranger Raptor have the same North American market project code of P703. Independently, we found social media profiles of a U.S.-based Ford employee and a Canada-based employee from Modatek, a company that works on frames for Ford, that list the P703 as one of that person's current projects. That there are North American employees working on the truck also suggests the platform is for our region. The current Ranger was developed in Australia, after all.
Still, we'll have a few years before a new generation shows up. After all, Ford only just started selling the U.S. Ranger, and it needs to recoup the investment to federalize it. Based on pure offhand conjecture, we would bet Ford keeps our current Ranger around for about four model years, making the new one a 2023 model. We also expect the American Raptor will use gas engines, not a diesel like the current global Raptor, to better suit U.S. tastes and to avoid an expensive federalization process on a diesel engine. Besides, Ford has plenty of off-the-shelf gas engines that would be great, and more powerful, for the U.S. Raptor. The F-150's 2.7-liter turbo V6 at 325 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque could be ideal, especially as it's already built for truck duty, and its power slots comfortably between the base Ranger and the F-150 Raptor.
But at this point, that's all speculation. All that's left to do is wait and hope the Raptor launches here.
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According to R&T, both the next-generation Ranger and the Ranger Raptor have the same North American market project code of P703. Independently, we found social media profiles of a U.S.-based Ford employee and a Canada-based employee from Modatek, a company that works on frames for Ford, that list the P703 as one of that person's current projects. That there are North American employees working on the truck also suggests the platform is for our region. The current Ranger was developed in Australia, after all.
Still, we'll have a few years before a new generation shows up. After all, Ford only just started selling the U.S. Ranger, and it needs to recoup the investment to federalize it. Based on pure offhand conjecture, we would bet Ford keeps our current Ranger around for about four model years, making the new one a 2023 model. We also expect the American Raptor will use gas engines, not a diesel like the current global Raptor, to better suit U.S. tastes and to avoid an expensive federalization process on a diesel engine. Besides, Ford has plenty of off-the-shelf gas engines that would be great, and more powerful, for the U.S. Raptor. The F-150's 2.7-liter turbo V6 at 325 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque could be ideal, especially as it's already built for truck duty, and its power slots comfortably between the base Ranger and the F-150 Raptor.
But at this point, that's all speculation. All that's left to do is wait and hope the Raptor launches here.
Related Video:
Featured Gallery 2019 Ford Ranger Raptor in Australia
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