The 1500 TRX is the first Ram pickup to feature launch control despite being designed for bashing dunes into submission with its Goodyear Wrangler Territory all-terrain rubber boots. The F-150 Raptor doesn’t have launch control, and neither does the F-150 Raptor R.
It's even more curious that Ford hasn’t integrated launch control into the Ranger Raptor, and obviously enough, lower specifications of the mid-size pickup don’t benefit from this electronic aid either. One of the lower specs in question is the Wildtrak featured in the clip below, an off-road trim optioned with the largest non-Raptor engine available, namely a 3.0-liter turbo diesel V6.
The secret to launching a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission (10 speeds in this case) is brake torquing, especially if said vehicle doesn’t boast launch control. The peeps at Performance Drive recorded 9.23 seconds from zero to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in their test truck, which currently shows just under 7,500 kilometers (4,660 miles) on the clock.
With brake torquing, which is particularly effective in turbocharged vehicles because it builds up the boost and increases engine speed, the Ranger Wildtrak needed 8.40 seconds to reach three-digit speeds. The pull from 60 to 110 kilometers per hour (37 to 68 miles per hour) took 5.92 seconds, and the quarter mile was dealt with in a respectable 16.17 seconds at 141.1 kph (84.6 mph).
The 2023 Ford Ranger Wildtrak in the video below is officially rated at 184 kW and 600 Nm of torque, figures which convert to 247 horsepower and 443 pound-feet had the six-cylinder turbo diesel been available stateside. It’s a single-turbo engine rather than a twin-turbo affair.
For the U.S. market, Ford will update the Ranger to the T6.2 specification of the Australian variant later this year for the 2024 model year. Although the Power Stroke V6 isn’t going to be offered stateside, the EcoBoost I4 will soldier on with minimal changes. It will be joined by the first-ever Ranger Raptor for North America, an off-road sports truck gifted with the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6.
The six-cylinder engine of the Ranger Raptor is available in two states of tune as of the moment of writing, with Australia getting more power and torque than Europe due to the European Union’s more restrictive emission regulations. With Euro 7 due to go live in 2025, it won’t get better than this for high-displacement engines.
Internally referred to as the Nano, just like the 2.7-liter EcoBoost, the 3.0-liter sibling makes up to 392 horsepower and 430 pound-feet (583 Nm) in the Ranger Raptor. The European specification belts out 284 horsepower and 362 pound-feet (491 Nm), restricted by the gasoline particulate filter and ECU software.
As for the most powerful and torquey 3.0-liter EcoBoost to date, that would be the V6 engine hiding under the hood of the Bronco Raptor. It makes 418 horsepower and 440 pound-feet (597 Nm) for the 2023 model year. Given that the Ranger Raptor will be priced lower than the Bronco Raptor and feature smaller tires, chances are the 2024 Bronco Raptor will soldier on as the top dog.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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