Back in February, Ford Performance pulled the cover off of its new Ranger Raptor — a high-performance off-road-ready variant of the compact pickup that packs an all-new twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 engine that generates 285hp and 362ft-lbs of torque. In an effort to prove the new turnkey off-roader’s go-anywhere capabilities, Ford Performance has now revealed a specially-built Ranger Raptor Baja 1000 entry for this year’s race.
To bring this ambitious project to life, Ford Performance called on Australian race shop Kelly Racing to build the Baja-ready Raptor-spec Ranger Raptor, treating the truck to an enormous slew of upgrades — from leading aftermarket outfits like FOX, MoTeC, PWR, Herrod Performance, and ARB — including extensive crash protection, multiple LED light-bars and auxiliary lights, a Safari snorkel, a massive lift kit, a full skid place, and Method off-road wheels shod in BFGoodrich all-terrain race tires, plus a pair of bed-mounted full-sized spares. Once complete, the Ranger Raptor Baja racer was then turned over to Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Brad Lovell of Lovell Racing, who, along with his team, has been putting the Ranger through its paces in a variety of different grueling off-road settings.
The compact pickup truck’s Garrett-boosted 3.0-liter EcoBoost engine will also be running off of a low-carbon biofuel developed by Shell, combining one part of this proprietary formula with two parts ethanol and bionaphtha. Ford is also no stranger to competing in the Baja 1000, having previously secured numerous podiums within the last decade alone — and more recently developing its cutting-edge Bronco R race prototype platform.
The Ford Performance Next-Generation Ranger Raptor Baja 1000 Racer has been undergoing extensive testing — both in Australia and the U.S. — and will make its competition debut later this month in the Stock Class at the 2022 SCORE International Baja 1000.
