The lead image on our driving impression of the new Ford Ranger Raptor from the international launch in Australia shows the double-cab bakkie leaping through the air. But a top engineer at the Blue Oval brand says buyers “shouldn’t use it as a stunt vehicle”, warning that damage stemming from “abuse” won’t be covered under warranty.
Speaking to CarAdvice, Damien Ross, the Ranger Raptor’s chief engineer, emphasised that the bakkie is “not a jumps vehicle”, despite boasting Fox Racing dampers.
“Well, let’s make clear. What we’re doing around here is to demonstrate the maximum capabilities of the suspension. And some of the jumps that you see [at the international launch], they visually show that,” Ross told the Australian publication.
“It’s not a jumps vehicle. It’s a vehicle that when you ride on an off-road track, a race track – you’ll think that you’ll maybe look at something and then you go, ‘oh, but it’ll take it, right?’ and that’s kind of what it’s meant for.”
Ross warned that damage from “abuse” of the vehicle would not be covered by Ford’s warranty.
“It’s not a stunt vehicle and customers shouldn’t use it as a stunt vehicle. I don’t want to see ‘Dukes of Hazard’ stuff. What we’ve done is, if you’re an experienced driver and you’re driving at your limit off road … we’ve made sure that it can take that kind of abuse. But we can’t warrant it for [stunts],” he said.
