Ford Performance’s chief engineer insists that no engine other than a twin-turbo diesel unit was considered for the new Ranger Raptor, pouring cold water on rumours of an upcoming petrol-powered model.
Speaking to GoAuto, Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer of the Blue Oval’s performance division, said that the pairing of a 2,0-litre turbodiesel engine (worth 157 kW and 500 N.m) with a 10-speed automatic transmission was on the cards from the very start of development.
When asked by the Australian publication whether any other engines were considered, Hameedi said: “There was the bi-turbo/10-speed, and the bi-turbo/10-speed”.
GoAuto then asked whether or not the V6 petrol powerplant used in the F-150 Raptor was considered.
“Not from the start. Not once. We wanted the best diesel available that we could get our hands on,” he said.
“If you’re focusing on the engine, you’re missing the whole point,” Hameedi said, echoing remarks he earlier made to the South African media.
Hameedi went on to suggest that aftermarket companies looking to build replicas of the Raptor using other Ranger derivatives as a base would struggle.
“There’s [a] technology aspect that you can’t get in the aftermarket [sector],” he told the publication, making particular reference to the new model’s “terrain management system”, which offers six distinct driving modes.
“But there’s also that content that is in that truck that to duplicate it in the aftermarket would cost you a fortune,” Hameedi said.
