Ready to Fly?!
by John McElroy
What took so long? Ford’s Raptor version of the Ranger pickup has been available in overseas markets for over a year with resounding success. Sales hit 40,000 last year, which is an impressive number for a specialized niche vehicle. Now that the Ranger Raptor is coming to the U.S. market—the largest pickup market in the world—those sales numbers should go a lot higher.
The Raptor is one serious off-road machine, replete with specialized components that set it apart from the regular Ranger. It starts with a beefed-up frame, which is unique to the Raptor. The front suspension gets forged aluminum upper and lower arms, while the rear suspension gets a Watts link for quicker steering reaction and better body control. Bi-valve dampers with more suspension travel allow the truck to go faster on the bumpy bits and jump farther on the humps because you land so softly.
The 4-wheel disc brakes are the same on the regular Ranger, but with software changes, they provide a 30% higher threshold braking performance, meaning the anti-lock braking kicks in that much later.
Under the hood is a powerful 3-liter V6 turbo with 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque, which is mated to a 10-speed automatic. That power is directed to a full-time AWD system with front and rear lockers.
Visually, the Raptor looks and is wider than the regular version. The front end has bigger apertures for max airflow to keep the engine cool for those long runs out in the hot desert. It gets a unique bed, bespoke interior materials, and splashy exterior graphics so everyone knows you’re driving a Raptor.
As long as you have access to hard-core, off-road trails you’ll really be able to appreciate what it can do. And to make sure that owners have the training to take advantage of its capabilities, Ford built what it calls the Ranger Raptor Assault School to teach them how to drive it. But I mean really drive it, like flat out across the desert floor, clawing up steep rocky slopes and flying over big humps on the road.
The school is a 220-acre facility outside of Salt Lake City, Utah where owners can learn how and when to use the different driving modes and AWD settings to achieve maximum performance. The site has a range of off-road courses, including different courses for the Ranger Raptor and its bigger brother, the F-150 Raptor.
Ford equips students with helmets and Hans devices, and then takes them out with expert instructors to build up their skills step by step, starting out in Normal Mode with full stability and traction control, then moving to Sport Mode, which backs out some of that stability and traction control, and then going to Baja Mode which takes everything off. They also learn how to use the different setting to lock and unlock the front and rear differentials.
Here’s the best thing about the school. It’s free. Well, OK, nothing in life is free. But the cost of the one-day school is included when you buy a Raptor. All you have to do is get yourself there.
Of course, a specialized truck like this carries a price premium. The Raptor starts at $55,470 not including destination charges. That’s more than $20,000 above the base Ranger. So not only is this truck going to cultivate a new generation of Ford aficionados, it’s going to generate bucketloads of profits for the company.
