Ford Previews 2018 Ranger Raptor For Thailand

Fitting a US-market Ford F-150 Raptor inspired grille is one of the most common modifications for fans of the Ford Ranger. It appears that Ford has been listening and will be introducing a new Raptor variant to the Ranger line-up in Thailand next year.

Details are scarce and it is unclear if this new Ranger Raptor is an all-new model or a final hurrah special edition model before the current T6 generation Ranger retires. Launched in 2011, the current generation Ranger is already at the tail-end of its model lifecycle and is due for a replacement soon.

Whichever generation it is, our guess is that the Ranger Raptor will built upon what’s available in the 3.2-litre turbo diesel Ranger Wildtrak. Despite the name, the Ranger Raptor is unlikely to be related to the US-market Ford F-150 Raptor, which is powered by a 3.5-litre turbocharged EcoBoost V6 petrol engine - not a very suitable engine for pick-up trucks in this region.

The single teaser video released by Ford suggests that Ranger Raptor is not going to be some dressed up pretty looking pick-up truck. Instead, the Ranger Raptor is likely to feature some serious off-road performance enhancing goodies, tough enough for high speed rally cross races in unforgiving Australian outbacks.

Also shown in the video is a new Ford Performance sub-brand, suggesting that Ford will be introducing a range of factory-approved performance enhancing parts, at least for Thailand.