Ford Ranger Raptor Might Come To The States After All
Like most fans of trucks that are meant to go fast off-road, we were super bummed out when we learned that the Ford Ranger Raptor wouldn't be coming to the United States. The truck was pegged for overseas markets only although other Ranger models were coming stateside and making headlines. A new report has surfaced that claims the Ranger Raptor might come to the States after all, at least eventually.
According to Road & Track, it asked Ford if the Ranger Raptor would come to the US and was told that the current Raptor wasn't designed for the North American market. That could have to do with the diesel engines, which aren't particularly popular in the States, or perhaps crashworthiness, no clear reason has been given. It's interesting that Ford said the "current" Raptor wasn't designed for this market.
R&T speculates that it is too late in the current generation Ranger to design a Raptor version for North America. However, it believes that the next generation of the Ranger will see a Raptor version for North America. To lend validation to that speculation Road & Track cites social media sleuthing that shows profiles for Ford engineers working on a project dubbed P703, said to be the next-gen Ranger expected in 2022.
A recent project description posted to social media shows a Chassis Engineer is working on a Ranger Raptor with a P703 code and that is specifically called out as being for the North American market. That same engineer worked on the current Ranger available in North America, dubbed the P375N, along with the Ranger sold in other parts of the world. That next-gen Ranger is expected to ride on the same frame as the new Bronco.
To excite fans of the new Bronco, word is that development for the Bronco and Ranger is by the same team. This opens the possibility for a Bronco Raptor, something that is very exciting. A North America Ranger Raptor would likely ditch the diesel engine used in the current generation and go for an EcoBoost gas engine instead. Most of this North American Ranger Raptor is speculation for now, but it at least gives hope to Ranger Raptor fans.