After many months of decoding teasers, and tons of speculating, the Ford Ranger Raptor was finally uncovered in Bangkok, Thailand. This is fresh off of the Ford Ranger debut at the Detroit Auto Show in the United States, making it seem like a snuff to the North American market. It’s not certain if they will, or won’t, bring the Ranger Raptor to this country anytime soon, so don’t get your hopes up.
What you can look forward to is the Chevy Colorado ZR2 and Toyota Tacoma TRD. This might not be super exciting as a Ford fan, but the silver lining is that Ford is going to feel the pressure to compete with the other automakers in the niche.
Back to Thailand’s Ranger Raptor, what was revealed is a truck with wide fenders and upgraded suspension, it was very familiar to the F-150 Raptor truck, only quite a bit more compact. That’s good though, that’s what the people want. The biggest difference from the F-150 Raptor, besides size, is the F-150 front grille with blocked “Ford” letters is replaced simply with a Ford Blue Oval emblem. It also has LED lighting and updated aerodynamic curtains. The Ford Ranger Raptor also sports a pair of tow hooks and bash plate under the front.
The extra width gained by the front fenders will provide extra width to work with, sitting at 67.3 inches wide at the front and rear. Its special bumpers and 11.1 inches of ground clearance give the Ranger a new approach angle of 32.5 degrees, a ramp over angle of 24 degrees, and departure angle of 24 degrees.
Its rear bumper has a pair of tow hooks, and the sensors and tow connectors have been changed. The bed seems to be the same size, despite it being wider overall. Ford also gave it a Raptor logo on the rear fender and tailgate, and interior changes are subtle.
The big changes are the chassis, brakes, and suspension, which have all been beefed up for challenging terrain. Ford built the truck to be driven at high-speeds off-road, and we sure hope those roads include those in the United States soon!
Shawn Henry is a Texas native who has spent the majority of his career building and selling F-Bodies and Corvettes. Now studying journalism, he is taking a new direction with his love of GM Performance vehicles.
