It was in September this month that Ford's CEO Jim Farley put out a taunting tweet to "Hold on to your butts" which translated to the fact that the much-anticipated Ford Bronco Raptor is incoming. The world was stuck in anticipation and had nothing to look at, up until now. The dudes at thebronconation.com managed to get up-close and personal with a considerably less-camouflaged 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor.
Details are scare but we do get the first official look at what the Raptor-badged icon would look like and the anticipation level has shot through the roof! Wider fenders, beefier tires, and jacked-up suspension is just the start of this mud-eating monster. It is speculated that the Bronco Raptor has an inspirational bond with the Ford F-150 Raptor and shares quite a few hardware bits with the mad truck.
The Raptor-specific "Ford" front grille is here and so is the cheeky amber DRLs that now seem to be a commonality among Raptors. The Bronco Raptor's supposed 350 HP V6 will not be enough to topple the 470 HP Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, its arch-nemesis. But then again, that leaves for more speculations of a supposedly even-powerful Bronco Raptor R. The world's a wild and surprising place for sure!
The guys at "The Bronco Nation" got an exclusive tease of the 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor and it's as wild as it sounds.
We Envy The Guys At The Bronco Nation
These images are not from the official press release by Ford, as there isn't one yet! We can feast upon this much-anticipated off-roading monster because of the persistent dudes from The Bronco Nation. Three members of this online forum were given exclusive access to a subtly camouflaged 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor at an undisclosed location. While details are scarce and we only have images of the exterior, those 3 guys are the luckiest Bronco fanatics in the world right now we are sure that they went along with Jim Farley's tweet!
Wider, Beefier, And Rolling On 37s - The 2023 Bronco Raptor
The most striking design cue from the first tease images is the sheer width of this Bronco. Those widened fenders and underlined with huge 37-inch BFGoodrich KO2 tires that add some serious brawn to the already chunky-looking Bronco. While 37s does look rad, we suspect the Bronco Raptor to come stock with 35-inch tires, which aren't subtle by any means!
The other very obvious "Raptor" cue is the defining front grille with "Ford" and amber LED DRLs. Beefed-up suspension is sure to give the Bronco Raptor its much-needed confidence on rough terrains. Apart from the wider fender flares and Raptor-specific grille, the 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor looks much like its beefed-up siblings - Wildtrak and Badlands.
Ford Bronco Raptor Takes Inspiration From F-150 Raptor
Most of the mechanical and aesthetic features adapted for the upcoming Bronco Raptor are borrowed from the famed F-150 Raptor and it makes complete sense. The front grille is F-150 Raptor derived as there is no other 'Raptor' to look out to.
Ford is also using Fox Live Wire twin-tube bypass dampers, also used in the F-150 Raptor, to keep this Bronco planted and in control at insane speeds on unpredictable terrains. The huge 37-inch tires used on this camouflaged Bronco are also an optional feature on the F-150 Raptor. Other shared cues include marker lights, skid plates, and blacked-out taillights.
Bronco Raptor Will Most-Likely Pack A 350 HP V6 And Launch By Mid-2022
We will have to put all those V8 dreams to rest for now as the 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor will most likely pack a modified version of the standard Bronco's 2.7-Liter Twin-Turbo EcoBoost V6. This engine in its standard state pumps out 330 HP and 415 lb-ft of torque. Expect the "Raptor" name to boost it just over the 350 HP mark, but 400 HP would have made things spicer.
While this would be the standard engine option, Ford will surely add an optional one which most likely would be the 400 HP 3.0-Liter EcoBoost V6 from the Ford Explorer. But as Ford is sharing a lot of mechanical bits with the F-150 Raptor, we can't stop dreaming of the 450 HP Twin-Turbo 3.5-Liter V6 in the Bronco Raptor.
For those disheartened with the Bronco Raptor not packing in a V8, don't lose hope. As the Ford Bronco Desert Ready is powered by a Coyote 5.0-Liter V8. And let's hope that Ford spawns a fiercer Bronco Raptor R from the upcoming Ford F-150 Raptor R which gets the mad 5.2-Liter V8 motor from the Mustang Shelby GT 500!
The Bronco Nation hints at a possible launch of the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor by mid-2022 but pricing is still big suspense. Going by what this Raptor would pack expect it to be priced around the $60,000 mark.
Sources: Thebronconation.com, Motortrend.com, Gearpatrol.com, Media.ford.com