Watching closely a livestream pays off as every now and then, an automaker discreetly inserts a tidbit. Towards the end of the 2022 Ranger's debut event, Ford sneaked in a QR code, which takes you to a hidden page on the company's Australian website where the Raptor is being teased. After (desperately) trying for half an hour to grab the embed code since there was no visible option, we finally cracked the code to share the video here.
Yes, the high-performance version is coming sooner rather than later since the world premiere is scheduled to take place in February 2022. The soundtrack we're hearing doesn't seem to come from the twin-turbodiesel engine of the outgoing four-cylinder Ranger Raptor, but rather from a larger V6 petrol unit also equipped with a pair of turbos added for good measure.
The standard next-gen Ranger will be offered globally with two 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesels, one of which will have two turbos, followed by a 3.0-litre V6 diesel at the top of the range. Alternatively, a 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol mill is going to be available. As far as the Raptor is concerned, logic tells us it's going to use either the 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 from the Bronco or the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 from the Explorer ST.
If it's going to get the Bronco's powertrain, look for something in the region of 330 bhp and 415 pound-feet (563 Newton-metres) of torque on premium fuel and 315 bhp and 405 lb-ft (550 Nm) on regular fuel. Should Ford decide to go with the Explorer ST's heart, that one packs a mightier 400 bhp and 415 lb-ft (563 Nm) on premium fuel.
See the spy shots:
The Ranger Raptor has been spotted testing on US soil, so they are likely going to get it this time around. Further down the line, a plug-in hybrid is widely believed to be launched, while the truck-based Everest SUV is also getting a new generation that will once again be offered only in certain markets. North America is unlikely to be one of them since the model would clash with the Bronco.