Over in Australia, there’s this intellectual property office that allows the user to search for whatever trademark or design he wants. Entering “Ranger Raptor” in the search bar reveals an interesting design patent, whose convention details include “the United States” of America. Isn’t that somewhat curious considering that Ford hasn’t confirmed the Ranger Raptor for the U.S. market?
But as you all know, Ford developed the Ranger Raptor mostly in Australia. Given this information, it’s no wonder the Dearborn-based automaker decided to secure the design patent in Australia first. The simple mentioning of the United States, however, is our clearest indicator to date about the Ranger Raptor coming to the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.
Until now, our only clue about U.S. availability for the off-road pickup truck came in the form of spy photographs and clips of the Ranger Raptor roaming in and around Michigan with a manufacturer’s plate affixed to the rear bumper. But thanks to IP Australia, we’re now certain the mid-size brother of the F-150 Raptor will go on sale stateside next year.
Adding fuel to the fire, 29/634999 is a patent application number used by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. To this effect, digging deeper into the USPTO database should reveal the same design patent (29) as the one filed with IP Australia for the Ranger Raptor.
Expected to look similar to the Australian model with the exception of the U.S.-style lights, the Ranger Raptor could debut in this part of the world at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show or the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The biggest unknown, however, is what hides under the hood.
We’d be surprised if Ford were to modify the 2.0-liter EcoBlue bi-turbo diesel for the U.S., more so when you bear in mind how unpopular diesel is around here. To this effect, a high-output version of the 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbo is likely, with Focus RS-like output or something near that threshold. On the other hand, the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 is another candidate provided that Ford can shoehorn a six-cylinder engine in the engine bay.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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