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| Powered by the fuel-guzzling V8 from the Ford Mustang, the racing Rangers from Neil Woolridge Motorsport is the only Ford that can beat the Raptor. |
Powered by the fuel-guzzling V8 from the Ford Mustang, the racing Rangers from Neil Woolridge Motorsport is the only Ford that can beat the Ford Ranger Raptor with its triple-bypass dampers, special tyres and dynamic suspension that delivers a Baja rally or soft roadtrip ride as racing dad or the school run requires. We look at three factors that make the Raptor the best factory-made bakkie on sale in the world today.
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| Mark Perry and the rather special damper he helped design. |
RACING DAMPERS
Ford suspension engineer Mark Perry from ‘Assturylihu’ holds the racing derived dampers that enables the new Ford Ranger Raptor to take jumps and survise humps that will pulverise lesser bakkies. There is one on every wheel, each of which costs over R25 000, or the price of a used Toyota Tazz.
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| Magnus Gouws framed by the durable tyre built for the Ford Ranger Raptor. |
RADICAL RUBBER
Michellin’s Magnus Gouws holds the BF Goodrich All Terrain tyre that was specially developed for the Raptor, with thicker sidewalls and shoulders designed to eject mud and stones while running at the low pressures required in off-road conditions.
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| Two power points serve the rear passengers in the Ford Ranger Raptor. |
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Ford is already running two shifts at its Silverton plant and exporting thousands of bakkies weekly from both Durban and PE to meet demand for the Raptor in Europe, where drivers in especially England and Germany cannot get enough of this racing bakkie. While very few of these city-slickers will get to explore the full extend of the Raptors adrenalin-pumping abilities, all will get to use this Euro plug that serves passengers in the rear. Details like this are what makes a good vehicle a great one.
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| Gareth Woolridge races V8-powered Rangers, but can learn to like getting more than 1km/litre from the 2,0 of the Raptor. |
FRUGAL ENGINE
The 2-litre bi-turbo engine under the Raptor Racer’s hood impressed even Maritzburg-based cross country racer Gareth Woolridge, who otherwise races around in a Ranger that is powered by Ford’s fuel-guzzling V8 that was race-tuned by Neil Woolridge Motorsport.
