Photo: Ford
Shockingly enough, Ford Performance won’t bring the Ranger Raptor to the United States of America. In other words, the 308-horsepower Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 remains the go-to pickup truck with off-road credentials in the mid-size segment, starting at $42,500.
Over in Australia and Europe, the Ranger Raptor comes with the 2.0-liter EcoBlue bi-turbo diesel, packing 213 PS (210 horsepower) and 500 Nm (369 pound-feet) of torque. When prototypes of the off-road workhorse were spotted in the United States, we were guesstimating the engine of choice for this part of the world would come in the guise of the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6.
In the Edge ST, the twin-turbo plant is good for 335 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque on 93-octane gasoline. The question is, why did Ford Motor Company took the decision to offer the Ranger in the United States as we know it for the 2019 model year, with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost and nothing more off-road than the FX4 package?
Speaking to Auto Blog, the vehicle line director for Ford Performance made comments on issues such as the pricing (“too close to that of the F-150 Raptor”) and “bringing the Raptor up to U.S. requirements would apparently take enough time and money to make bringing it here prohibitive.” Even though he didn’t mention it, the EcoBlue four-cylinder would also be an issue in the United States if the EcoBoost V6 wouldn’t fit in the engine bay.
Looking on the bright side, the F-150 Raptor starts at $52,855 and comes equipped with the second most powerful version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 after the engine in the GT. The Ford Motor Company has announced that the full-size pickup in this configuration “stays on dealer lots for an average of 20 days,” which is another way of saying that the Ranger Raptor would cannibalize with the F-150 Raptor to some extent if Ford were to bring it to the United States.
The Ranger Raptor would also be less profitable when taking everything into consideration, so why even bother? Last, but certainly not least, don’t forget that Ford is in the middle of a restructuring plan with the aim to bring costs down as much as possible. As part of the plan, the number of vehicle architectures will be cut back from nine to five.
In the Edge ST, the twin-turbo plant is good for 335 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque on 93-octane gasoline. The question is, why did Ford Motor Company took the decision to offer the Ranger in the United States as we know it for the 2019 model year, with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost and nothing more off-road than the FX4 package?
Speaking to Auto Blog, the vehicle line director for Ford Performance made comments on issues such as the pricing (“too close to that of the F-150 Raptor”) and “bringing the Raptor up to U.S. requirements would apparently take enough time and money to make bringing it here prohibitive.” Even though he didn’t mention it, the EcoBlue four-cylinder would also be an issue in the United States if the EcoBoost V6 wouldn’t fit in the engine bay.
Looking on the bright side, the F-150 Raptor starts at $52,855 and comes equipped with the second most powerful version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 after the engine in the GT. The Ford Motor Company has announced that the full-size pickup in this configuration “stays on dealer lots for an average of 20 days,” which is another way of saying that the Ranger Raptor would cannibalize with the F-150 Raptor to some extent if Ford were to bring it to the United States.
The Ranger Raptor would also be less profitable when taking everything into consideration, so why even bother? Last, but certainly not least, don’t forget that Ford is in the middle of a restructuring plan with the aim to bring costs down as much as possible. As part of the plan, the number of vehicle architectures will be cut back from nine to five.
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