Motoring

Raptor turns Golf GTI-killer – 2023 Motoring Newsmaker No 3

It was a classic case of “be careful what you wish for” when costumers expressed their desire for more power in the new Ford Ranger Raptor.

Not in their wildest dreams could owners of the first-generation Raptor bakkie have guessed how the Blue Oval would react to their request. To say that the new Ford Ranger Raptor received a power bump would be the understatement of the year. Dropping the 157 kW/500 Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel mill in favour of the 292 kW/583 Nm 3.0-litre V6 bi-turbo petrol engine is more like a complete power blast.

In setting a string of records, it is no surprise that the Raptor was one of The Citizen Motoring’s biggest newsmakers of 2023.

Ford Ranger like no other

After some epic adventures on the dunes outside Walvis Bay during its launch in February, it was time to pit this beastly machine against the clock.

It only took one run by Road Test Editor Mark Jones to make the Raptor the fastest production bakkie yet. In going from 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds, it obliterated the previous record of 8.14 seconds. This time belonged to the previous gen 190 kW 3.0-litre V6 VW Amarok.

But the wily PR people over in Silverton craved more. They gave Mark another Ford Ranger Raptor to go test at the coast to see if it could do better.

Golf GTI-killer

And boy did Ford get their wish. By clocking a sprint time of 5.84 seconds, the Raptor moved out of the bakkie space into unchartered territory. This time pipped hot hatch pair the Golf 8 GTI (5.88) and Renault Megane RS 300 Trophy (5.90).

Performance SUV was also not spared. The Ford Ranger Raptor’s time was good enough to beat that of the BMW X6 M50d (5.85). And for good measure, the 5.0-litre V8 supercharged Range Rover Sport (6.08).