Ford trademarks Rattler name for new off-road package

The Blue Oval is on something of a charge in North America at the moment, releasing a range of new trucks such as the Maverick and F-150 Lightning recently, and also expanding its off-road oriented line-up with the Explorer Timberline and Bronco.

American publication CarBuzz has discovered a trademark registration application from Ford for another brand name, with the Detroit-based manufacturer filing to stake its claim on "Rattler" – expected to end up on an off-road based model.

Submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the trademark application is "intended to cover the categories of motor vehicles, namely, automobiles, pick-up trucks, electric vehicles, sport utility vehicles, off-road vehicles, and their structural parts."

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The Maverick is Ford's smallest truck but is expected to undercut the Ranger in America

The new Maverick could be a prime candidate for a Rattler upgrade, available out of the box with either a 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid engine or 2.0-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol, each making 142kW/210Nm and 186kW/376Nm respectively.

Though it's unlikely Ford would try to shoehorn something like a V8 into the Maverick, it's not out of the question for a hotter-tune version of the EcoBoost to make its way into a Rattler upgraded variant, with extra gear being added on top of the already available all-terrain tyres, underbody protection and off-road tuned suspension.

As the smallest truck in Ford's model line-up, the Maverick is even smaller than the Australian-designed Ranger but is expected to take sales away from the ute, being aimed at customers who want a light-duty vehicle with its 680kg payload capacity.

Currently, the Raptor nameplate serves as Ford's range-topper for off-road models, being applied to the F-150 and Ranger, while its Mustang pony car has adopted snake-related variants since the 60s, the Cobra being used as a symbol for the high-performance Shelby range.

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Australian-delivered Ranger Raptors are the closest thing we can get to full-size pick-ups Down Under