Today, the Ford Ranger is a strong competitor in the mid-size pickup market across much of the globe, and that includes the U.S., where it made a comeback for the 2019 model year after quite a long absence. Prior to that, the Ford Ranger was a popular compact pickup that has since gained quite a bit of steam in the used market, where folks are beginning to gravitate toward the last-gen model as a potential future collectible. Thus, we imagine that this 1997 Ford Ranger XLT will garner its fair share of interest – and bids – now that it has hit the auction block.
This 1997 Ford Ranger is up for grabs at Bring a Trailer with just 35k miles on the clock, which is quite a low total for any vehicle of this vintage. The Flareside pickup was purchased new by the seller’s late relative in Detroit, Michigan, and has remained in the possession of the family ever since, and clearly, they took great care of it. The Portofino Blue Clearcoat Metallic looks to be as good as new, though the truck did reportedly suffer some minor damage to the front right section back in 2022 that was subsequently repaired.
Inside the cabin, one will find mostly clean and undamaged Medium Graphite cloth seats – though there is a cigarette burn present on the driver’s side – along with amenities including power windows, a cassette stereo, and air conditioning. Power comes from the naturally-aspirated Ford 2.3L I-4 engine, factory-rated to send 112 horsepower and 135 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission. As it sits, this Ford Ranger had an original sticker price of $16,115, though it figures to eclipse that this time around.
We’ve certainly seen our fair share of last-generation Ford Ranger pickups with few miles on the clock surface for sale at auction over the past few months, signaling a massive rise in collector interest. That list includes another 1997 XLT with 37k miles, as well as a 1999 XLT with 52k miles.
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