Daily Slideshow: The New Ranger Raptor Should be Headed to the U.S., but With What Engine?
The Ranger Raptor is available with any engine you want in Asia, so long as it's a 2.0-liter turbo diesel. But what will be under the hood when the hardcore off-roader reaches our shores?
Worst Kept Secret
Much ado has been made over the fact that the Ranger Raptor isn't for sale here in the U.S., at least for now. For their part, Ford has done a pretty poor job of hiding the fact that they intend to bring the hardcore off-roader here to the states, not that it matters much. Heck, we'd be floored if they didn't take advantage of what is currently a robust market for such a truck, what with the success of the Chevy Colorado ZR2 and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. There's just one question left to ask, really, and that's what the U.S.-spec Ranger Raptor will have under the hood?!
To Diesel, or Not to Diesel?
When Ford rolled out the Ranger Raptor in Thailand, they also revealed that the off-roader would come equipped with a 2.0-liter twin-turbo diesel producing 210 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. This wasn't a surprise, of course. Aside from America, the rest of the world seems to prefer diesel power in their off-road vehicles, perhaps for their prodigious torque and improved fuel economy. And although some of us would love a diesel option at the very least, that doesn't appear likely to happen.
It's a Gas
Ford Performance chief engineer Jamal Hameedi somewhat let the cat out of the proverbial bag in an interview with Australia's Drive at the Ranger Raptor's launch event. “Raptors are a slam dunk for the US,” he told Drive. “I think it [the Ranger Raptor] would do really well in the states. I think most American off-roaders would actually prefer a petrol gas engine, but a diesel is an absolute way to go for the rest of the world.”
Ecoboost for the Win
As we already know, the F-150 Raptor is offered with one engine, and one engine only - a fortified version of Ford's 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6 producing a stout 450 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque. Given the fact that the Ranger Raptor must do battle with its aforementioned Chevy and Toyota competition, combined with the Ecoboost's undeniable success, we'd expect one of the turbo engines to land in the American Ranger Raptor. But which one?
Connecting the Dots
The 3.5 Ecoboost is Ford's range-topping engine in the base F-150, so it only makes sense that they also made it the engine of choice for the F-150 Raptor. For now, the only engine offered in the U.S.-spec Ranger is a modified version of the 2.3-liter Ecoboost used in both the Mustang and Focus RS. So it would make a lot of sense if Ford simply cranked up the power on that very powerplant for Raptor duty. Ford could easily best the competition's numbers with the mighty little mill and still maintain a gap between it and the Ranger Raptor's big brother. Personally, we'd love to see the 2.7-liter Ecoboost V6 under the hood, but that seems like more of a long-shot given its extra weight.
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