Ford’s Ranger has a storied past. It existed in the North American market since 1983 as a trusty and capable compact truck, below the F-150 but serving many people in diverse situations.
After evolving and changing through the next couple of decades, Ford saw fit to finally discontinue it around 2011 due to declining sales forcing the Ranger into an 8-year hiatus.
In 2019, we saw the return of this pickup, and it hasn’t taken long for the automaker to find the reasons necessary to bring us a Raptor version – let’s see what that a Ranger looks like when it’s given the dinosaur treatment.
Ford’s 2023 Ranger Raptor Will Turn Up The Heat For The Mid-Size Truck
On Ford’s online configurator for the modern Ranger, you can select your way to the cheapest available of these trucks: for just over $22,000 you get a single-cab, 170 hp, 6-speed manual with part-time 4-wheel-drive.
But opt for the most powerful double-cab, in Wildtrak form and the price jumps up to $30,000, which enables you to enjoy a 10-speed automatic transmission and 213 hp from the same 2-liter engine, plus the same all-wheel-drive.
In addition, if you have another $15,000 available you can upgrade to the Raptor, the king of the Ranger line, but that truck is the last generation; and is also just a trim, it doesn’t feature a special engine under the hood.
Touted to be coming in 2023, the new Raptor variant will feature new styling to bring it in line with the Ford F-150’s modern design and mimic its bigger brother’s aggressive shape and features.
This hardcore model will be tough underneath, designed to take on anything you can throw at it, whether in the desert or the shopping mall car park.
The 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor Will Be More Powerful, More Durable And More Stylish
So far, we know that the baddest of Rangers will get a 3.0-liter Ecoboost V6, meaning the turbocharged unit will be able to endow the truck with 290 hp and 360 lb-ft, through a 10-speed automatic gearbox: that’s 80 hp more than the little 2-liter diesel with a decrease in torque of around 30 lb-ft.
Diesel will still be an option, but globally the truck will receive attention in other areas too; the suspension will be considerably strengthened and upgraded, along with reinforcements being made to various parts of the mountings and drivetrain.
Pricing hasn’t been announced, but is likely to at least be on par with the $45,000 entry price for the last-generation Ford Ranger Raptor package.
Destined initially for Europe, the truck will not arrive over here in the US straight away, but that just gives us time to save up some cash for the deposit.
Otherwise, you can pick up its bigger brother, the F-150 Raptor from $68,000 – more than twice the cost of a basic $29,000 entry-level F-150.
If it’s the most expensive F-150 you need, though, there’s a Limited version for a whopping $75,000 before options or taxes, but we’ll take the Ranger Raptor when it arrives and save a lot of cash for that trip into the desert.