GRR

Raptor is a badass Bronco

24th January 2022
Bob Murray

If the recent Paris-Dakar gave you an appetite for off-road racing, let us introduce you to the latest thing built to beat up deserts and conquer mountains: the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor. It is, as Ford Performance in the States says, “badass”.

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It’s a big brother to the Ranger Raptor we get in the UK but this most powerful street-legal Bronco ever is destined to remain a rare sight in this country – as rare as the deserts and mountains this Raptor has been designed to master. It wouldn’t get out of bed to tackle a British green lane.

Inspiration for it comes from the US’s Ultra4 off-road racing series, so no surprise top of the to-do list was ensuring low-speed rock crawling ability along with plenty of power and stability to attack deserts and dunes at speed.

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The Bronco Raptor has put together by Ford Performance, the outfit that turns out other sporting specials like the Mustang Shelby GT500, and the high-performance heritage shines through. As the hard-charging video shows, “race proven” is more than just an idle boast for Ford’s ultimate hardcore off-roader.

It’s built from girders, more or less, sits on giant 37-inch all-terrain tyres which in the interests of high-speed stability are almost 10-inches wider apart than a standard Bronco thanks to the extra-wide body. Doors and roof panels are removable, but even without them the fully boxed, high-strength steel frame is 50 per cent stiffer than standard.

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As well as the extra width, ground clearance shoots up thanks to new shock towers that increase wheel travel and off-road durability. Suspension, axles and driveshafts are extensively upgraded. The “Built Wild” design replaces other parts with heavy duty components and reinforcements. The Raptor is a feast of tow hooks, lights, rock rails, skid plates and masses of Blue Oval branding – there’ll be no mistaking it for a Ford. Inside it’s just as tough and stripped back to the racing basics.

And under the bonnet? Not the V8 that you might have expected, but a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6. Power is 400PS (298kW) with 563Nm (415lb ft) delivered to all four wheels via a 10-speed auto ‘box and transfer case. In fact it will have more power than that but Ford has yet to confirm the actual number. A nice touch is the exhaust valving which allows four selectable exhaust modes, including Normal, Sport, Quiet – and Baja. That’ll be the loud one then.

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At US$70,000 – Code Orange paint job extra – the Raptor is a rival for the V8-powered Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. A tempting bargain in other words. If you are tempted, and import one, do let us know – we want to have a play with it…

  • Ford

  • Bronco

  • Raptor

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