Is Ford testing a V6 Ranger Raptor?

It’s the first question a lot of punters ask when they see the Ford Ranger Raptor roll up at the lights: has it got enough grunt?

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The simple answer is, yes. The 2.0-litre diesel bi-turbo has enough herbs for lumbering along country and suburban roads and towing a tonne, but it’s nothing special. At least not special enough to match the desert-busting chassis and tough truck looks of a ute that sits in the Ford Performance stable and has a ‘Baja’ race mode. Though that might all change soon.

Ford has been spotted testing the Ranger Raptor in the US with a petrol motor. It’s a bit unusual, considering the Raptor is not available in the US Ranger line-up and is currently only available with the same 2.0-litre oiler on sale down under. So what of it?

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Spy photographers for Automedia caught the black test mule running around the streets of Detroit. Reports are that it sounded like there was a petrol V6 engine lurking underneath, pumping its tune out of two rear exhausts. The video confirms it’s no diesel.

Blacked-out in typical test mule fashion and without badging or a closer inspection, it’s impossible to know what exactly was sitting under the bonnet, but it’s possible it could have been either Ford’s 2.7-litre turbo V6 or the smaller 2.3-litre EcoBoost currently powering the North American Ranger.

It points towards the blue oval introducing the Aussie-developed Ranger Raptor in the US, or the possibility it is testing for an update we might receive. The smaller 2.3-litre would bode well for Australia, with the engine already implemented here in the Ford Mustang and previous-generation Focus RS producing up to 257kW and 440Nm. The 2.7-litre unit that’s being speculated overseas wouldn’t work out well for Australian tastes, as that engine has so far been canned for any right-hand drive market vehicles.

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It seems less likely that the engine was in testing for the next-generation ute due in 2022, that Wheels got the first look on. In the US at least, a petrol-powered Raptor would give Ford a sharp rival to the likes of the 3.6-litre V6 Jeep Gladiator (that’s due here next year), or the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 with the same size engine. Though Australians will no doubt be pining for a V8…

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