The NZ unveiling of the new Ford Ranger Raptor
The life of a Performance truck can be pretty hectic we hear. Fresh from it’s punishing (and we are told it really was punishing), TV commercial duties in New Zealand’s South Island, Ford’s new Ranger Raptor was rushed to Ford NZ’s day spa in Manukau for some deep pore cleansing before being taken to the Helipad in Onehunga for a photo shoot and interview with the NZ motoring press. Then, in ‘no rest for the wicked’ fashion, the Ranger Raptor’s next gig will be a four-day public appearance at the Fieldays event in Hamilton next week, where it will undoubtedly garner fervent attention from all that attend.
This attention is not unwarranted either. Capitalising on the Ranger’s market-leading position, Ford boffins have returned from the drawing board with a vehicle that stretches the capabilities of off-road trucks by asking such questions as ‘why can’t we go fast where the tarmac stops’ and ‘what happens when a UTE flys?’
Standing tall at almost 1.9m with a length and width of 5.4m and 2.2m respectively, the Ford Performance team have really gone to (or is that out of) town with the Raptor. To name but a few things, they’ve added Fox Shox, 17″ feet with huge Goodrich rubber, Composite fenders for increased robustness, stolen the look of the grille from the F150 Raptor, added a 2L Bi-Turbo engine that gives underfoot power of 157kW and 500Nm of torque and strapped a 10 speed autobox to it, because that was the best fit apparently!
The Ranger Raptor isn’t due for release here in NZ until September(ish) so hence the busy schedule for this TT (pre, pre-production model). We recommend you take a trip to Fieldays next week and visit the Ford stand if you’re keen to get up close and personal – We can’t guarantee it will be signing autographs but we believe there will be some salespeople standing by to take yours.
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