US Ford Ranger Raptor to get powerful petrol engine

The Blue Oval has been caught patenting the Ford Ranger Raptor for sale in the US market.

According to the

Ford of North America this week announced pricing and specifications for the Australian-developed, US-build 2019 Ranger, which will be powered exclusively by a 210kW/420Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and priced in line with the Toyota Tacoma from $US25,395.

North America's Ranger differs from ours in other key areas, such as a steel front bumper, opening rear window and four-wheel disc brakes, which are employed by the Asia Pacific Ford Ranger Raptor that's powered by a 157kW/500Nm 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo diesel matched to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Last week Ford of Europe announced it will reveal "a new performance vehicle for drivers and gamers" at Gamescom, Europe's largest computer and video gaming event, in Cologne on August 21.

Along with the announcement, it released a YouTube video of a Gamescom-liveried Ranger concept truck in action at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed accompanied by the hashtag #RaptorMania, suggesting the Ford Ranger Raptor will also be sold in Europe.

Now the unearthing of US patent renderings has led to reports about what will power North America's Ford Ranger Raptor, which is expected to ditch a diesel engine in favour of turbo-petrol power.

Sadly, the Ranger is unlikely to be the recipient of the F-150 Raptor's 336kW twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6.

Instead, the Asia Pacific Ranger Raptor's twin-turbo 2.0-litre 'Panther' diesel will be dropped and replaced with either the 242kW/475Nm biturbo 2.7-litre V6 from the US-spec Ford Edge ST or a high-output turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder from the Ford Focus RS and Mustang.

If the petrol-powered Ford Ranger Raptor is offered in the US market it's unlikely the engine will become available in the Thai-built Australian version, which was developed here but aimed at diesel-focussed southeast Asian markets.

At its Asia Pacific launch in Darwin lat month, Ford Asia Pacific product chief Trevor Worthington told motoring.com.au that no other engine was considered for the Raptor. He robustly dismissed any larger capacity engine for the Australian market and said those looking for "traditional performance" should consider the Mustang.