New Ford Ranger Raptor airborne action too risky for Aussies to see

When the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor goes on sale in Europe later this year, it will miss out on the full-strength 292kW/583Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 that powers the Australian version to be released in the third quarter of 2022.

Instead, stricter emissions regulations have resulted in significantly lower outputs for the second-generation Ranger Raptor in Europe, where the same engine will produce just 212kW and 491Nm.

That’s 27 per cent less power and 16 per cent less torque than our model, and also 9Nm less than the original Raptor’s 157kW/500Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder biturbo diesel, which will continue to be available in the new Euro Raptor from 2023.

So while Australia’s new Ranger Raptor almost doubles its power output from a 50 per cent bigger petrol engine, nearly halving its 0-100km/h time from 10.7sec to around six seconds, Europe’s new V6 Raptor will offer just 55kW more than before and will be significantly slower than ours.

It’s understood part of the reason for the Raptor’s European detune is the fitment of a petrol particulate filter, something not fitted to the Australian model that can run on standard 91 RON unleaded – even if the performance outputs are achieved using 98 RON.

“Like other OEMs, we homologate to meet the stringent EU emissions standards,” a Ford of Europe spokesperson told Carscoops. “The new Ranger Raptor with its V6 EcoBoost petrol engine is around 30 [per cent] more performance than the current diesel.”

Representing somewhat of a consolation prize for Europeans, when the new Ford Ranger Raptor made its global debut last night they were treated to airborne action images deemed too dangerous for Australians.

As you can see from these official YouTube videos, while Ford Australia showed the new Raptor undertaking plenty of sideways off-road action, our nanny-state advertising laws prevented any footage of the vehicle with its wheels off the ground.

In fact, Ford of Europe’s launch video was based around a Raptor jumping out of a military aircraft.

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