SPY PICS: V8 for Ford Ranger

A quick-witted carsales reader has snapped off this picture of a left-hand drive Ford Ranger cruising through Geelong this week, and according to the reader the left-hook Ranger sounds like it's running a V8.

"Passed this today in Geelong, heard it before I saw it; sounded very much like an eight..." the reader reported.

"There was an odd shape to the bonnet line," he also mentioned. "Was certainly a Yank model. No engine badges anywhere."

The reader emphasised the Ranger "definitely sounded like an eight, especially off the mark".

What this means precisely is uncertain. The test vehicle, being left-hand drive, is not necessarily intended for the local market. When contacted for this story, a Ford Australia spokesman told carsales that "we can't comment on speculation".

Currently, Ford Australia's Campbellfield office is the 'home room' for T6 Ranger (and Everest) design and engineering. That responsibility will continue with the incoming, all-new Ford Ranger, which is platform-shared with the Volkswagen Amarok.

Ford has launched the current Ranger in North America with a 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol engine rather than the choice of diesels available in Australia.

The word is that the Ranger Raptor is yet to be confirmed for the USA, but it's expected to join the range following the next model update. Images have recently surfaced depicting what is thought to be a Raptor mule for the American market. It has the body panels, wheel/tyre combination and trimmings of the current Raptor as we know it (and with the steering wheel on the left), but the engine was too quiet to be a diesel, according to the spy photographers.

It's thought that this vehicle is the current body and underpinnings wrapped around a 2.7-litre EcoBoost V6 that's being trialled for the Raptor version of the updated Ranger, due in North America later this year.

But a V8-engined Ranger test vehicle in Geelong suggests the petrol V6 may actually be a replacement for the current 2.3-litre engine in North America, with a V8 reserved for the American Raptor, if or when that arrives.

What's also interesting about the vehicle photographed in Geelong is that it has just one exhaust pipe exiting the rear of the vehicle, whereas the (ostensibly V6-engined) Raptor mule in the US has two pipes.

It's not certain what this means. Could our reader have been mistaken about the engine note? He was pretty certain he heard right.

Is it the real deal, or could it just be a side project or proof of concept by Ford Australia engineers? A V8-engined Ranger Raptor is an intriguing prospect, but does it make sense in a country where the F-150 Raptor is such a hero?

And if this V8 Ranger is headed for production, will we see that powertrain option for Ranger in Australia?