The Ford Ranger Raptor was a breakaway success story for Sime Darby Auto Connexion, the local distributor of Ford vehicles. It was the first modern pick-up truck to be priced at RM200,000 and one of the first of its kind to offer high-performance parts as part of its standard equipment. The car was so popular despite its price that the initial batch of vehicles sold out in a heartbeat. Later on, we even heard that thieves had stolen a whole bunch of them from a dealership.
For 2020, it looks like Sime Darby Auto Connexion are preparing an update to the Ranger Raptor. On the 15th of March, the company posted to the Ford Malaysia Facebook page a teaser video with the caption reading “There’s a new beast on the streets, where performance meets intelligence. Coming your way soon.”
Here are some of the updates to equipment according to what the current model year Ranger Raptor gets in Thailand.
Key additions include Advanced Driver Assist Technologies like Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, a Forward Collision Warning System, and a Lane Keeping System.
You’ll also find newly revised LED projectors and a USB port near the rear view mirror for dash-cam installation.
It is still powered by the 2-litre “Panther” EcoBlue biturbo diesel engine, which you can read about below.
An all-new engine architecture is claimed to deliver reduced friction and a clean-burning combustion system. The engines will meet Euro 6 emissions standards. Ford says that a 13 percent improvement in fuel efficiency is obtained through friction reduction enhancements.
A new strong lightweight engine block features an aluminium ladder below that reduces noise and vibration. The crankshaft from the piston is offset by 10mm to allow piston side load against the cylinder wall to be reduced hence decreasing friction and wear with the diameter also reduced to improve efficiency.
New belt-in-oil system are being used to drive the cams to reduce friction while the head’s intake system is engineered to equally balance the air between each cylinder.
Centralized eight-hole-nozzle piezo injectors are being used to inject oil at 2,000 bar, much higher than previous engines.
