Photo: Ford Romania
At the beginning of the year, Which Car reported that Ford is planning to roll out the Ranger Raptor V8 as a special edition for Australia. Instead of the bone-stock diesel with two turbos and 2.0 liters of displacement, the limited-run truck would receive the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 from the Mustang and larger F-150.
Fast-forward to May 2020, and that’s when Wheels reported that the project was “put on ice” and “on indefinite hold.” Not long after that, the peeps at Car Advice learned that the Ranger Raptor V8 “was never an approved program and likely won’t be built.” Indeed, ladies and gentlemen; the most powerful mid-size truck in Australia was axed before news about it came out in January 2020!
The Blue Oval’s local division had reportedly put together a running demonstrator to check how the V8 fits in the engine bay, but the eight-cylinder Ranger Raptor didn’t take flight after that stage. On that note, what else can be done?
Car Advice understands that an Aussie swap from an independent shop would be prohibitive price-wise. Think AUD 120,000 ($83,140 at current exchange rates) or more for the conversion from EcoBlue to Coyote, which is too much money for a truck that doesn’t do truck things as well as a regular Ranger Dual Cab.
“The prohibitive cost of an Australian engine conversion also ruled out other potential Ford engineering partners Premcar, Tickford, and Herrod Performance.” The biggest problem with fitting a 5.0-liter in the engine bay of the Ranger isn’t the swap per se, but the work that has to be done after that. Think about the transmission, suspension geometry, emissions compliance, durability, and safety testing. Make no mistake about it; an engine swap isn’t plug-and-play.
The next generation of the Ranger Raptor won’t get a V8 either. Word has it that Ford intends to soldier on with the 2.0-liter EcoBlue and replace the 3.2-liter Duratorque with a 3.0-liter turbo diesel V6. A plug-in hybrid option is also rumored, centered around the 2.3-liter EcoBoost of the U.S. Ranger.
The Blue Oval’s local division had reportedly put together a running demonstrator to check how the V8 fits in the engine bay, but the eight-cylinder Ranger Raptor didn’t take flight after that stage. On that note, what else can be done?
Car Advice understands that an Aussie swap from an independent shop would be prohibitive price-wise. Think AUD 120,000 ($83,140 at current exchange rates) or more for the conversion from EcoBlue to Coyote, which is too much money for a truck that doesn’t do truck things as well as a regular Ranger Dual Cab.
“The prohibitive cost of an Australian engine conversion also ruled out other potential Ford engineering partners Premcar, Tickford, and Herrod Performance.” The biggest problem with fitting a 5.0-liter in the engine bay of the Ranger isn’t the swap per se, but the work that has to be done after that. Think about the transmission, suspension geometry, emissions compliance, durability, and safety testing. Make no mistake about it; an engine swap isn’t plug-and-play.
The next generation of the Ranger Raptor won’t get a V8 either. Word has it that Ford intends to soldier on with the 2.0-liter EcoBlue and replace the 3.2-liter Duratorque with a 3.0-liter turbo diesel V6. A plug-in hybrid option is also rumored, centered around the 2.3-liter EcoBoost of the U.S. Ranger.
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