It's Ranger Raptor for the rough in Morocco

The Raptor version of the new Ranger from Ford will be arriving in Ireland in August, writes Brian Byrne.

With a smooth and torquey 218hp biturbo diesel, and a variety of special engineering mods, the Ranger Raptor is designed with the Baja 1000 desert race in Mexico in mind.

I had a lot of fun with it over the past few days in Essaouira in Morocco. Just  taster above.

A distinctive Raptor grille sets the pickup apart from its tamer siblings and the competition, as do flared front fender protectors and wheel arch extensions. Redesigned bumpers include an integrated tow hitch at the back.

Raptor is wider, taller, rides higher than the standard Ranger, and for rough terrain it has greater ground clearance and increased approach and departure angles. It has a wading depth of up to 850mm and can tow up to 2,400kg.

The vehicle comes as standard with a wide range of driver assist systems, including hill descent control, roll stability, and trailer sway control, and will be available in only one version, priced at €63,950.

The 2.0 diesel is derived from the powertrain in the Edge SUV. There's a 10-speed automatic transmission and drive formats are 2WD, 4WD and 4WD low.

Ford is expecting to sell 60-80 units in Ireland this year, and maybe 100 next year.

---