The Ford Bronco Raptor Seems To Be Ready For A Desert Rally

Enthusiast website Bronco Nation has revealed the first unofficial images of the new Ford Bronco Raptor. The souped-up 4x4 off-roader is set to arrive next year in its home market in the United States. Can you guess the Bronco Raptor’s powertrain from the pictures? 

The regular Bronco can be had with either a 270PS/420Nm 2.3-litre turbo four-cylinder engine or a 310PS/542Nm 2.7-litre V6. But reports suggest that the Bronco Raptor will likely have a larger displacement 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, possibly with more than 400PS of power! The 10-speed automatic transmission is likely to remain unchanged. 

Although the Bronco in the images is partly camouflaged, it’s fairly apparent that there are minimal exterior differences between the regular Bronco and the Raptor. It gets similar amber LED daytime running lights (DRLs). The grille in the Bronco has a distinct honeycomb pattern with ‘Ford’ lettering in bold font similar to the Ford F-150 Raptor pickup truck. In the regular SUV, the grille has a ‘Bronco’ logo. 

The Bronco Raptor has a similar boxy shape as the SUV it is based on, but with gigantic 37-inch wheels that give it a wider stance and higher ground clearance. For reference, the Bronco Raptor’s tyres are a full 6 inches taller than the Mahindra Thar’s! 

Along with the larger tyres, Bronco Nation suggests that the new Bronco Raptor will get ‘high-travel’ off-roading suspension. Ford is silent about the engine details but an intercooler that peeks from under the front bumper tells us that the Bronco Raptor packs turbo V6 petrol power. 

Since Ford has shut its local car production in India, we’ll only get fully imported models from this year onwards. So we are keeping our fingers crossed about Ford bringing the Bronco to India. 

The performance-oriented Bronco Raptor is likely to be exorbitantly priced if it ever arrives on our shores. It’ll rival the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and the Land Rover Defender when it comes to India. 

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