New Limited-Edition Ford Ranger Thunder Bows In Europe With Exclusive Styling, Features

It’s been roughly a year-and-a-half since Ford Authority was the first to uncover a Ford trademark application filed in Europe for the Ford Ranger Thunder name. At that time, we speculated that this could be another Ranger variant for European customers, who already have a slew of them to choose from. And as it turns out, we were correct. The all-new Ford Ranger Thunder debuted today and is available to order now, ahead of a delivery date of late summer 2020.

As it turns out, the Ford Ranger Thunder isn’t just another special edition pickup, either. It’s a rather limited production model, with just 4,500 units planned for all of Europe. Derived from the highly-popular Ranger Wildtrak series, the Ford Ranger Thunder combines a loaded truck with optimized hauling/towing and tough four-wheel drive capability.

“With an edgier look for customers who aren’t afraid to be noticed, the new Ranger Thunder will be an unmistakable presence on or off the road,” said Hans Schep, general manager, Commercial Vehicles, Ford of Europe. “This capable, comfortable and stylish addition to Europe’s best-selling pick-up range is as tough and versatile as it is charismatic.”

The Ranger Thunder comes in any color one could want, so long as that color is Sea Grey. It’s also adorned with a host of Ebony Black accents, including on the 18-inch alloy wheels, front grille, rear bumper, skid plates, fog light surrounds, bed-mounted roll bar, and door handles. There are contrasting red accents on the grille and roll bar, as well as three-dimensional “Thunder” badges on the driver and front passenger doors and tailgate, along with a matte-black Ranger logo.

LED headlights with darkened bezels are also standard, with the tail lights also get darkened bezels. The Ranger Thunder comes with a bedliner and Black Mountain Top powder-coated rolling tonneau cover (called a “shutter” by Ford Europe), as well as a practical new load bay divider, the first time that option has been available on any Ranger model to date.

On the inside, the Ford Ranger Thunder features full Ebony leather seats with red Thunder embroidery and matching stitching adorning the steering wheel, seats, instrument panel, and various other touch points throughout the cabin. Black floor mats are also standard, as are a set of red-illuminated sill plates.

The sole engine option for the Ford Ranger Thunder is Ford’s Bi-Turbo 2.0L EcoBlue diesel engine, which produces 210 horsepower (213 PS) and 368 pound-feet (500 Nm) of torque. The oil burner is backed up by Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission.

The Ford Ranger Thunder is certainly a great-looking addition to the European Ranger lineup, and another one that we wish we could get here in the U.S. And we bet that The Blue Oval won’t have any trouble selling all 4,500 copies of it, either.

We’ll have the latest on this and other future Ford trucks from around the globe, so be sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Ranger news and 24/7 Ford news coverage.