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OK Ford, Enough Teasing: Bring the Ranger Raptor to the U.S.
Ford recently revealed that the European market would get the new Raptor version of the mid-size Ranger pickup truck, joining Asia, Africa and Australia in the company's plans to introduce a baby brother version of the beefy F-150 Raptor in 2019. Ford of Europe made the announcement and displayed the truck at the Gamescom trade fair in Cologne, Germany, early last week, coinciding with the truck's official debut in the new Forza Horizon 4 video racing game from Microsoft.
Like the rest of the markets in which it will be sold, the European Ford Ranger Raptor will feature a twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter EcoBlue four-cylinder diesel engine making about 210 horsepower and roughly 368 pounds-feet of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission driving all four wheels. It has an off-road racing-inspired suspension that employs Fox shock absorbers with 46.6 mm pistons, aluminum control arms and a unique coilover rear suspension with an integrated Watt's linkage. Twin-piston front brake calipers are fitted over 13-inch ventilated rotors stopping 17-inch wheels shod with specially designed BFGoodrich All-Terrain knobby tires.
The most impressive part of the Ranger Raptor may be its electronic Terrain Management System. The electro-brain allows drivers to select between six different modes tailored to various terrains: Normal, Sport, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Sand, Rock and Baja. That last one adjusts everything so that you can go blasting across the desert at top speed, just like a Baja racer ... and given that the only desert in continental Europe is in a tiny corner of Spain, we're calling it ridiculous that Europe should get a version of this truck before the U.S. market does.
Because that's right: Ford still maintains that there's no plan to bring the Ranger Raptor to the U.S. Why? Who knows? Maybe it's a powertrain issue, maybe the 2.0-liter EcoBlue turbo-diesel doesn't meet U.S. emissions standards. Maybe Ford wants to get the basic Ranger to market first, which is happening later this year, to see if it even sells before promising additional versions. But given that the F-150 Raptor is a major hit for Ford — being snapped up by people looking for the ultimate off-road pickup (regardless of whether they'll actually exercise its immense capabilities) — introducing a smaller, less expensive, mid-size version just seems like a no-brainer to us.
While we wait to hear whether Ford finally decides to bring the baby Raptor to the states, the Europeans get to enjoy it next year. It is slated to go on sale in Europe mid-way through 2019.
