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Ford intends to prove the Ranger Raptor’s off-road capabilities by taking on one of the world’s most challenging desert rallies.
Blue Oval has developed a racing version of the Ranger Raptor to compete in the American Baja 1000 desert race in November.
Built in Australia with the help of ex-Supercars team Kelly Racing, the race car then headed to the US where off-road experts Lovell Racing will compete in its first race.
The rugged ute is set to compete in a class for near-stock vehicles close to showroom specification.
Thus, the car modifications are mainly related to safety kit such as roll cage, seat belts, sports seats and fire extinguishing system.
The car also has racing rims and tires, additional spotlights, a high-mounted tailpipe and an optional bulletproof vest.
Australian companies contributed to the cause, including specialist Ford Herrod Performance, ARB Off-Road Accessories, PWR Coolers and MoTec Engine Management Systems.
In the future, some of their work may find its way to road Raptors.
The Raptor racing engine is closely related to the 292kW, 583Nm engine found in the road-going Ranger.
This makes it a significantly different proposition from the Toyota HiLux that competes in the Dakar desert – this car competes with V8 and V6 turbo engines located in the middle, which are not found in the HiLux road cars.
Ford says the race car will run on a low-carbon biofuel developed in partnership with Shell to prove that motorsport can be mean and green.
Originally published as the Australian-built Ranger Raptor for Baja rally competition
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