Patents Indicate The Ford Ranger Raptor Will Make It Stateside

Will it or won’t it be available in the United States? That’s the question people have been asking about the Ford Ranger Raptor ever since it was launched.

Now, we appear to have a definitive answer: Yes, it will be sold in the U.S.

Ranger5G recently uncovered design patents that depict a Ranger Raptor with unique features necessitated by the U.S. market. A host of bespoke features differentiate the Ranger Raptor depicted from the one on sale in other markets. For example, the pickup appears to sport a sliding window in the rear windshield, a feature distinct to U.S.-spec Rangers. Additionally, there’s a sports bar directly behind the cabin that Raptors sold overseas aren’t available with.

Interestingly, the patents surfaced on a patent registry in Australia, the country set to serve as a big market for the pickup and the place where much of it was developed.

However, it’s not just these patents that point towards a U.S. launch for the Ranger Raptor. A number of examples have been spotted near Ford’s Detroit headquarters in recent months, suggesting that the automaker is fine-tuning them for American roads.

Due to the U.S.’s love for petrol engines, the 2.0-liter biturbo four-cylinder diesel found in Australia and other markets probably won’t be fitted in the U.S. model. Instead, Ford will allegedly opt for a larger and much more powerful 2.7-liter EcoBoost six-cylinder pumping out 325 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.

Sales of the 2019 Ranger start this fall, and it’s likely the Raptor will arrive next year, probably as a 2020 model.