Ford Ranger Raptor – US may get 2.7L EcoBoost, but 2.0L EcoBlue is the “right choice for power, efficiency”

Ford Ranger Raptor – US may get 2.7L EcoBoost, but 2.0L EcoBlue is the “right choice for power, efficiency”

Hot on the heels of its launch, more news about the Ford Ranger Raptor have come to the fore, most notably with regards to its powertrain. Currently, the Ranger Raptor is only available with a 2.0 litre bi-turbo diesel (which makes 213 PS and 500 Nm of torque), but it seems that the US market may get the EcoBoost petrol range instead of the diesel, as the oil burner will require emissions compliance certification in the US.

According to Car and Driver, US-bound Ranger Raptors could be powered by the 2.7 litre EcoBoost V6 engine from the F-150, making at least 325 hp and 508 Nm of torque. There’s also a more potent 3.5 litre EcoBoost V6 (456 PS/691 Nm) that powers the F-150 Raptor, but that option seems too much of an overkill at this point.

UK-based Roland Ernst, Ford’s chief engineer of small gas and diesel engines, told CarAdvice that the 2.0 litre engine and the 10-speed automatic is the “right choice to combine power and efficiency.” He explained: “we’ve taken the standard 2.0 litre turbo that this engine started life as and refined the durability, upgraded the pistons and optimised the temperature range of the turbines for better performance with this engine.”

“Once that was done, we’ve taken it through the toughest testing procedures we have in the Ford Corporation, including the peak pressures in the fuel system, the entire temperature range inside the engine, as well as all the environmental testing in deserts and in freezing conditions in cold climates – and it passed with flying colours,” Ernst added.

“By combining the boost control with the smaller high pressure turbocharger sequentially with the larger low pressure turbo for the higher power, we think we’ve got a very responsive engine, a very powerful engine and a very tough engine,” he told the Australian publication.

“The main intent of the Raptor DNA is to have a very sharp throttle response, and we think with this product that we’ve achieved that through our engineering, and especially in combination with our 10-speed auto transmission,” he added. Could there be a more powerful version of this 2.0 litre Panther unit in the future? Possibly. “Let’s just say this engine is very robust and has a lot of potential,” Ernst hinted.


Watt’s link (left), Fox Racing Shox dampers (right)

As a refresher, the Ranger Raptor is the most off-road capable version of the Ranger T6, the model which it’s based on. Besides the obvious styling tweaks, the Raptor benefits from increased ride height and wider tracks, as well as stiffer chassis and a set of racing-grade Fox Racing Shox dampers for the rear suspension. Also fitted is a Watt’s link to manage lateral movements.

The new Terrain Management System comes with six driving modes to cycle through, beginning with Normal, Sport, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Sand, Rock and of course, Baja. According to Ford, Baja mode, which primes the driveline for maximum off-road performance, is unique and cannot be obtained in the aftermarket.

There are five exterior colour options for the Ranger Raptor – Lightning Blue, Race Red, Shadow Black, Frozen White and Conquer Grey.

GALLERY: 2018 Ford Ranger Raptor world debut in Bangkok

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Matthew H Tong

An ardent believer that fun cars need not be fast and fast cars may not always be fun. Matt advocates the purity and simplicity of manually swapping cogs while coping in silence of its impending doom. Matt's not hot. Never hot.

 

Comments

  • Murican pipu sees puny 2L engine inside, they wun take. they go for biggest block variant.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 11
  • No problem if they bring the 2.7L petrol variant. Even almost same torque but gain more horsepower. Road tax still cheaper than 3.2L diesel ranger.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
    • Under a condition of similar displacement engine, the diesel powered version will save at least 30% of fuel compare to petrol variant. The turbo for diesel engines will also last longer due to diesel exhaust gas temperature are much lower than gasoline ones and the turbine turn alot slower .

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • John Fake News Sdn Bhd on Feb 09, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    This is going to be Car of the Year and also a big hit in Malaysia.

    Just look at the posting few days ago by Paul Tan, it had nearly 10,000 facebook postings. Thus this will be a big hit

    Wish we had a Malaysian truck to be proud of. We only had Proton Arena aka Proton Jumback. Now, even the pasar guy selling ikan also dont want to use Arena anymore also

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 27 Thumb down 0
  • halloha560 on Feb 09, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    (Like) 2018 Ford Ranger Raptor
    (Dislike) 2018 Mazda CX 5, 2018 Mitsubishi Triton, Mitsubishi Outlander and 2018 Mazda BT 50

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 56 Thumb down 8
  • Elchino on Feb 09, 2018 at 8:38 pm

    Any indication on price in Thailand compared to wildtrak? When can we expect it to be launched here?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Sputjam on Feb 10, 2018 at 10:46 pm

    Just realised volvo’s petrol hybrid in xc90 and xc60 beat fords torque by more than 100Nm. 508 v volvo’s 640 Nm

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 3
 

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