SPY PICS: Ford Ranger Raptor muscles up

As the February world debut of the all-new Ford Ranger Raptor edges closer, new spy photos shed more light on what we can expect from the high-performance dual-cab 4x4 super-ute.

Images snapped in the USA alongside the closely related Ford Bronco Raptor, which is also yet to be revealed but won’t be sold in Australia for now, reveal more design elements of the V6 desert-dueller’s front-end, including a tougher front bumper design with a resculpted grille and de rigeuer bash plate.

Along with the elevated ride height, courtesy of another all-coil suspension set-up including a bespoke Watts Link rear-end and nitrogen-filled Fox dampers, the Aussie-developed Ford tough truck features wider wheel tracks under heavily blistered wheel-arches separated by high-clearance side steps.

Designed to cope with the rigours of unforgiving landscapes and even getting airborne, the hard-core suspension offers extended wheel travel and is underpinned by all-terrain tyres again likely to be BF Goodrich KO2s.

The back of the rugged ute reveals twin exhaust outlets with a black finish, adding fuel to the fire around its switch to a petrol engine.

Indeed, our sources indicate the new Ranger Raptor will finally get a rip-snorting petrol V6, as suggested by a teaser soundtrack at the Ford mini-site, revealing what sounds like a six-cylinder petrol engine revving – complete with a menacing crackle as the revs recede.

Precise details of the Raptor’s new high-output donk haven’t been officially announced but the safe money is on a 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 that bangs out up to 300kW of power and 600m of torque.

Those figures represent a significant hike on the current Ranger Raptor’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel (157kW/500Nm), which will again be available across the new Ranger line-up.

The switch to a petrol engine will provide the Raptor with a more aggressive attitude given the higher-revving nature and greater power output of petrol engines compared to diesels.

It will also provide a significant point of difference from the potent new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 that should be good for around 190kW and 600Nm in other premium versions of the new-generation Ranger.

The Ford Ranger’s arch-rival, Toyota’s top-selling HiLux, is also plotting a six-cylinder hero model for its next-generation ute that could leverage the 300 Series LandCruiser’s 3.3-litre diesel V6 – a lusty 227kW/700Nm proposition.

But that vehicle, the Toyota GR HiLux, isn’t expected to break cover until around 2025, giving the new Ford Ranger Raptor a crucial head start.

Based on the all-new Ford Ranger that will be launched here in the second quarter of 2022, the all-new Raptor is expected to arrive in Ford showrooms by the end of this year.