Rumored Ford Ranger Raptor Would Need To Make A Solid Business Case

As soon as something in the automotive realm becomes the subject of anticipatory speculation, it rarely – if ever – goes away.

Case-in-point: the prospect of a high-performance Ford Ranger Raptor mid-size pickup. We reported back in October of last year on rumors that the Blue Oval was taking a long, hard look at whether to give the potent “Raptor” treatment to the global Ranger, and now, Australian website Motoring has reopened the case file.

The key thing that a hypothetical future Ford Ranger Raptor would have to provide – just like any other Ford Performance product – is a solid business case. When asked about the rumored Ford Ranger Raptor, Ford Performance Chief Engineer Tyrone Johnson told Motoring that “one thing that is true for [Ford], and perhaps less true for others looking at some of the hardware they have: everything we do has to have a solid business case. We don’t do products that lose money or break even.”

Importantly, as the folks at Motoring point out, the Ranger is poised to re-enter the US market in a few years, adding a huge, integral market to the list of potential recipients of a Ford Ranger Raptor. With the US’ potent purchasing power, the business case for such a supertruck suddenly becomes much stronger.

“If it makes money, if there’s a business case, then I’m sure the people responsible for it are discussing it,” said Johnson, before adding: “Sure, it could be considered.”