Sam Krahn 
Here at MC&T, we don’t often report on cars that will never make it to America. After all, American performance, pickups and off-road vehicles are our forte. But with something as exciting as a Coyote V8 powered Ford Ranger Raptor was supposedly set for Australia, there are some things we simply can’t let pass. Just a few weeks ago, we were sad to report the project was called off due to Coronavirus budgeting issues, but now it seems even that was hopeful. According to new information from Australia’s Car Advice, the project was wishful thinking from the beginning.
After speaking with a “well-placed insider,” Car Advice has learned that the project was never green lit in the first place. Supposedly, Ford had given the idea to Australian dealers, but it never went further than an idea. They even wanted to make the truck happen, but some key issues would have driven the truck into astronomical prices.
Previous rumors suggested a private engineering firm would carry out an engine swap from the existing diesel engine to the Coyote V8. But for this to happen, the entire vehicle would have to be redeveloped. The V8 Ranger Raptor would need new crash testing, emissions testing, suspension and chassis tuning, stability control tuning, engine and transmission calibrations, and durability testing.
Put all of the development costs and paying a private company to build the car together, and customers would be asked to fork out around $120,000 AUD, which translates to around $83,000 USD at the time of writing. That’s more than a fully loaded Ford F-150 Raptor, for a truck that starts under $25,000. Hard to swallow, even for something so tasty.
In addition, the changes would have taken 2-3 years to complete, and that was before the Coronavirus pandemic slowed things down even more. At that point, Ford will be launching an all-new Ranger pickup, and they would definitely want the focus on the new model at that point.
Still, Car Advice says Ford Australia has noted there is demand for a Ford Ranger Raptor with a little more oomph than the diesel four banger currently gives. The only hope for a Ranger Raptor V8 is with the next generation model, but Car Advice says this is unlikely too. We just learned that the upcoming Bronco Ranger will utilize the 3.0 liter EcoBoost V6 from the Ford Explorer ST and Lincoln Aviator, so there’s always a chance for that 400 hp engine to make its way to the next generation Ranger Raptor as well. Let’s just hope we can get the baby Raptor next time, no matter what powers it.
