Ford Ranger Raptor turnkey racer under consideration

Ford Performance is investigating the possibility of offering a turnkey race-spec version of the Ford Ranger Raptor for motorsports-mad customers following the success of its off-road outings.

The latest Ranger Raptor made its racing debut at the 2022 Baja 1000 and is following that up with an appearance at this weekend’s 2023 Finke Desert Race in outback Australia.

While this is a factory program, the company has a long history of supplementing its factory programs with sales to private participants.

Asked if Ford was considering using its latest racing efforts as a development program for a private Raptor Ranger Racer, Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook said: “Yeah, absolutely.

“If you look at what’s already been established with our parent M-Sport in the rally world, you can buy Rally 1, 2, 3, 4, however, you want to rally around the world.

“And if you look at what we’re doing in sports cars with Mustang GT3, GT4, Dark Horse R, Dark Horse S… again all to be sold globally to suit the need of the customer. And in off-road we already have the Bronco R as a customer turnkey racer, and there’s a partnership between M-Sport and Neil Woolridge for the T1+ truck.

“So there’s a lot of opportunity there. We’re not announcing anything today by any means but look at the trend of what we’re doing.”

There are two paths a privately-available Ranger Raptor racer could take. The first is a production-based truck like the one that’s been campaigned at Baja and Finke, while the second being a wild, custom-built outright contender like the tie-up between M-Sport and South African-based Neil Woolridge Motorsport Rushbrook referred to.

Or, given Ford’s approach with rallying and sports cars, it may well offer both! Stay tuned for more details as they come to light.

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