Back in 2017, Ford took on the Baja 1000 in an almost-standard F-150 Raptor. After nearly 1,400km of desert racing, the F-150 came home third in the SCORE stock class and then proceeded to drive nearly 650km back to the Greg Foutz Motorsports base in Phoenix.
Impressive, but it does mean that this new Ranger Raptor has some rather big shoes to fill.
Yep, Ford Performance has now decided that its baby performance truck should take on the same race. Australia’s Kelly Racing has partnered with Ford to build the Baja-prepped Ranger, with US-based team Lovell Racing set to develop it further before it competes in mid-November.
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Ford will once again compete in the stock class, which means the engine, suspension, and bodywork all have to have the same basic design as the standard, road-going version. You can read all about that iteration of the Ranger Raptor by clicking these blue words.
The Ranger will also use Shell’s low-carbon biofuel to power its twin-turbo V6, which should provide some valuable data on using more sustainable fuels in *ahem* extreme environments.
Reckon Ford can match its F-150 result with the Ranger?
More photos of the Baja-ready Ford Ranger Raptor:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
