Ford recently announced that it would be producing a high-performance Raptor version of its Ranger bakkie.
Since then The Motor Report has discovered that the mid-size performance Ranger will be powered by a 2.0-liter twin-turbo diesel engine.
Ford remains mum on the details but the high-output engine is said to be both lighter and more powerful than the 3.2-liter five-cylinder found in a range of current Ford Ranger models.
The 2.0-litre engine is expected to deliver outputs of (at the very least) 150kW and 470Nm – which is comparable to the 3.2-litre five-cylinder Duratoq TDCi engine with 147kW and 470Nm – although with improved low rpm driveability because of the more responsive twin-turbo setup.
The bakkie’s power will most likely be delivered to all four-wheels thanks to the 10-speed auto box that Ford co-developed with General Motors. It will also get a custom suspension setup, increased ride height, be fitted with disc brakes on all four corners and receive a “head-turning exterior” design.
When it debuts we hope that the new Ranger Raptor will wow us, but if not, there is always the option of turning to a to a tuner to squeeze out some extra performance. Speaking of Ranger performance, we took a 200kW Ford Ranger – the real McCoy, all the way from M-Sport – for a spin. MS-RT