All manner of exotic machines blasted up the famous hill at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. But one off-roading machine did things a little differently: the new Ford Ranger Raptor started the hillclimb by completing a dramatic jump over a stack of hay bales.
After sticking the landing, the Ranger Raptor (interestingly seen here in left-hand drive form) is hustled up the hill, with its driver generally sticking to the tarmac but also spending a little time on the grass.
Unfortunately, the footage doesn’t afford us a decent listen to the Ranger Raptor’s soundtrack, although we’re guessing it simply sounds like, well, a 2,0-litre diesel. As a reminder, the Ford Ranger Raptor employs a new twin-turbo 2,0-litre four-cylinder oil-burner worth 157 kW and 500 N.m, sent to all four corners via a new 10-speed automatic transmission.
The vehicle’s coilover rear suspension uses a Watt’s link setup with a solid rear axle, while the dampers come courtesy of Fox Racing and the all-terrain 285/70 R17 rubber from BF Goodrich. A so-called “terrain management system” is furthermore included, offering six driving modes (normal and sport for on-road use and grass/gravel/snow, mud/sand, rock, and Baja modes for off-road use).
Of course, Ford recently announced that the very first examples of the Ranger Raptor had rolled off the production line in Thailand, with the Blue Oval brand releasing a short-but-interesting time-lapse video showing the new bakkie being built.
Ford Performance’s beefy new bakkie will also be produced at the Silverton Assembly Plant right here in South Africa, with its powerplant to be built at the Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth (the local launch will take place in 2019).
Watch the video above to see the Ranger Raptor in action…