Ford Ranger Raptor racer to be revealed on Cup day

Ford has teased a mysterious new version of the second-generation Ford Ranger Raptor via its various social media channels over the weekend, with a moody video shot at night showing the high-performance ute decked-out with light bars and what looks like a long-range fuel tank or storage solution in the tub.

Commenters have predictably gone into overdrive with speculation as a result, but the most likely eventuality is that this is our first look at a rally-ready Ranger Raptor destined for some of the world’s biggest off-road motorsport events like the Baja 1000 and Finke Desert Race.

The Ford Ranger Raptor was designed from the outset as a road-going desert racer and Ford has previously all but confirmed its intention to enter the high-performance dual-cab in Australia’s gruelling Finke Desert Race, the central outback venue for which also played a part in its development.

“We’ve done the equivalent of the Baja 1000 in Alice Springs and we’ve correlated that to the surface in California where Ford Performance signs off on all the other programs,” Ford Ranger Raptor program lead Justin Capicchiano told carsales earlier this year.

“We know what it’s capable of and would I like to see customers racing it in the desert? Well yeah.”

The infamous Baja 1000 makes even more sense for the Raptor’s first official motorsport outing, given it starts in a little over two weeks and directly inspired the new Raptor’s design and engineering make-up – a point hammered home by the inclusion of a ‘Baja’ drive mode for the new V6 Raptor.

Capicchiano’s comments suggest the Raptor that could represent Ford in what would be a global motorsport program will remain standard – other than the obligatory safety gear – in an effort to showcase its off-road racing credentials straight off the showroom floor.

“Production racing is probably a good starting point because you can look at what we’ve got and say the foundation starting elements are all there and then try and do things like roll cages, racing seats, harnesses and all that stuff,” he said.

The expectation then is for the Raptor to be entered in the production classes of the Baja (mid-November), Finke (mid-2023) and possibly even the fabled Dakar Rally (eventually).

Furthermore, the lessons learned and data collected from these racing exploits could be used in the development of an even more intense Ford Ranger Raptor R.

Ford itself said in the description of its teaser clip that “testing and development doesn’t stop when the sun goes down”, alluding to the fact there’s more to come from both the Raptor and the general Ranger line-up.

We’ll know for sure what Ford has planned for the Raptor’s early racing endeavours tomorrow (Melbourne Cup day), when this shadowy – and loud – homegrown Baja racer is unveiled.