Ford Ranger Raptor on sale in Europe in mid-2019

Following its reveal earlier this year, Ford has announced that the new Ranger Raptor will go on-sale in Europe in the middle of 2019.
 
After the F-150 Raptor managed to get legendary status amongst fans of off-road vehicles and pickup trucks, Ford decided to give its Ranger pickup the same treatment as its bigger American-market sibling.   Apart from being a lot smaller in size than the F-150 Raptor, the Ranger Raptor also gets a small, very European 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel engine with 213hp and 500Nm of torque.  However, both the F-150 Raptor and Ranger Raptor have a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Looking at its specification, it’s clear that the Ranger Raptor is meant to shine in high-speed off-road driving scenarios. The Ranger Raptor has a reinforced chassis frame that makes use of high-strength, low-alloy steels.   It also comes with FOX shock absorbers with Positive Sensitive Damping – which provides high damping forces in extreme conditions, and lower damping forces as well as a smoother ride in moderate on-road conditions.
 
Other suspension parts include aluminium control arms, and a bespoke new coilover rear suspension arrangement featuring an integrated Watt’s linkage.  Braking performance is provided by twin-piston callipers clamping on front ventilated discs measuring 332mm x 32mm, while the rear discs – also ventilated – measure 332mm x 24mm.
 
The new Ranger Raptor also comes equipped with off-road focused tyres; BF Goodrich all-terrains measuring 285/70 R17.  In addition to all the off-road hardware available, the Ranger Raptor also comes with six driving modes controlled by a Terrain Management System:

• Normal mode – emphasising comfort, fuel economy and driveability
• Sport mode – more responsive for spirited on-road driving
• Grass/Gravel/Snow mode – designed to inspire safe and confident driving on off-road slippery and uneven surfaces
• Mud/Sand mode – tuning vehicle responses for optimum traction and momentum in deep, deformable surfaces like loose sand and mud
• Rock mode – specifically for low-speed rocky terrain where smooth controllability is key
• Baja mode – tuning responses for high-speed off-road performance, just like drivers need in the famous Baja Desert Rally

The Ranger Raptor will surely be a much-anticipated vehicle in the off-road community, unfortunately no details on pricing are available yet, but we should know how much it costs as its on-sale date approaches. 
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Written by Alex Kisiri