The Ford Ranger Raptor existed in other parts of the world outside of the U.S. for a few years before it finally arrived in America alongside the current, redesigned 2024 model year pickup. The high-performance mid-sizer has proven to be a hit everywhere it’s sold, representing a pretty solid value compared to its Raptor lineup mates, specifically. Thus, one might think that perhaps Ford would consider offering an even more hardcore version of the Ford Ranger Raptor – in the vein of the V8-powered Ford F-150 Raptor R – but that apparently isn’t in the cards.
“Right now we’re pretty happy with the hierarchy we’ve got [with Ranger] and I don’t think we’ve got plans to do R versions for those vehicles,” Justin Capicchiano, Ford Performance SVE program manager, told Carsales in a recent interview. Capicchiano also admitted that hybrid power remains unlikely for the Ford Ranger Raptor and its counterparts, at least in the foreseeable future, largely because the automaker doesn’t see much of an added benefit given the extra heft that such a system brings with it.
These comments seemingly shoot down the idea that we’ll see a V8-powered Ford Ranger Raptor for the streets, which seemed somewhat possible given the fact that CEO Jim Farley recently hinted that the company is considering an “off-road supercar” of sorts, referring to the Dakar Rally Ford Raptor T1+ racer that’s powered by the 5.0L V8 Coyote engine.
Regardless, the existing Ford Ranger Raptor has proven to be quite popular in places like Australia and the U.S., and is currently offered with one singular power train option – the twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 EcoBoost engine, rated to produce 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. However, it still doesn’t quite hold a candle to the F-150 Raptor R, which just received a power bump for the 2024 model year – meaning that its supercharged 5.2L V8 now pumps out 720 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque.
Comments
But…whatever will Bill and Jim work on?
That sucks. This would have been great with even a basic Coyote.
Please Mr. Farley! Do reconsider a Ranger Raptor R! The present V6 power looks good on paper but it is measured as SAE, meaning taken off the crankshaft. Check its power on the rear wheels (DIN PS) and you get something like 285hp. Not quite as glamorous for a 2300kg truck! Please make the Ranger Raptor R to make it perfect!
Actually, it’s more like 337.2hp and 375.9ft-lbs at the wheel.