More Ford Rangers to get Raptor V6 engine - report
The US lineup of the Ford Ranger looks set to offer a wider range of variants with the twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 from the Raptor.
Ford is reportedly set to start shaking up its Ranger lineup in the US, following in the path of its Bronco twin-under-the-skin.
Earlier this month, Ford announced it was dropping the twin-turbo 2.7-litre petrol V6 engine from the Bronco family, with the twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 from the Bronco Raptor to instead be offered across more variants – albeit in a detuned state.
Producing 283kW and 597Nm, the detuned 3.0-litre V6 is down on the 312kW output of the Bronco Raptor, but is up healthily on the 246kW and 563Nm figures of the 2.7-litre V6.
Now, Autoevolution has reportedly seen a US Ford order guide which says the Ranger will follow suit, with the watered-down 3.0-litre V6 to be offered in the XLT and Lariat.
It’s likely the Ranger’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre won’t be as potent as that in the Bronco, as the SUV’s Raptor engine produces more than the ute’s (302kW/583Nm), while the 2.7-litre V6 in the Ranger is also down 11kW and 21Nm on the Bronco.
The change is unlikely to impact Australian versions of the Ranger, which are built in Thailand – rather than in Michigan like North American examples – and only offer petrol power in the Raptor and plug-in hybrid grades.
Australia’s current Ranger engine lineup consists of the entry-level 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel (125kW/405Nm), a more potent 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 (183kW/600Nm), the plug-in hybrid with its 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor (207kW/697Nm), and the twin-turbo 3.0-litre petrol V6 in the Raptor (292kW/583Nm).
Ford recently culled the bi-turbo 2.0-litre diesel engine from the Ranger lineup due to it being dropped globally.
Though Ford only offers petrol power in the Australian Ranger across the PHEV and Raptor, its Volkswagen Amarok twin – which is built in South Africa in the same facility as the Ranger Hybrid – is available with a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, making 222kW/452Nm.
Jordan Mulach
