The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor is coming to America after all, and the midsize truck wars are officially on. Ford and Chevy — as well as GMC — are set to duke it out on the dunes with their off-road midsizers, and while Chevrolet fired the first shot across the bow with the 2023 Colorado ZR2, Ford has replied with the debut of the Ranger Raptor in the U.S., with orders opening this month and the truck coming to dealers by end of the summer.
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The Ford Ranger Raptor is going to round out the Raptor line, which will count four vehicles in total: the F-150 Raptor, F-150 Raptor R, Bronco Raptor, and, now, the Ranger Raptor, which Ford calls the “baddest Ranger” it’s ever made.
That’s due, no doubt, to the new truck’s engine, which will be a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 making 405 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. The Raptor’s engine will feature an anti-turbo lag system that’ll keep the turbos spooled for up to three seconds when drivers let off the throttle to ensure that power stays on tap as drivers bomb through the desert in the new Ranger.
Of course, the truck will also feature the characteristic suspension of the Raptor line, complete with 2.5-inch live valve shocks from Fox — coilovers at the front, and piggyback reservoirs at the rear — to dampen the jumps and help the truck stabilize itself as it slaloms through sand. The Ranger Raptor will also feature reinforced front frame rails, stronger front and rear shock towers, and beefier suspension mounts to handle it engine and suspension upgrades.
There will also be the usual underbody protection, while the truck’s off-road performance upgrades culminate in the all-important passive suspension from its standard 33-inch tires, wrapped over 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels.
The Ford Ranger Raptor will debut the Shelter Green exterior paint finish, but we all know Code Orange will likely be the best of the bunch, which is why the interior bears orange-colored accents throughout. The only thing amiss — if you ask me — is that the Ranger Raptor does not tuck its active valve exhaust pipes.
We suspected this day would come. The writing was on the wall — berm, dune, what have you. The Chevy Colorado ZR2 led the charge, then the Canyon AT4X, and we’re likely not far from a new Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. Ford itself brought the F-150 Raptor roaring back with its thunderous supercharged V8, and, of course, the Ford Bronco Raptor, which is closely related to the Ranger itself.
When Ford announced the new Ranger, it was likely that the new midsizer was headed for the Raptor line even in America, where it had been unavailable since the Ranger Raptor debuted on global markets. And when the new truck goes on sale later this summer, it will start at $56,960, destination included.
