It’s official! Ford’s most rugged Bronco has been revealed.
The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor off-roader is more powerful, wider and taller, and even more off-road-ready than the ‘regular’ Bronco unveiled in 2020.
Customers will be able to order for the Bronco Raptor in March, with vehicles slated to arrive during the US summer, or June to September 2022.
A Ford Australia spokesperson told CarExpert there are no current plans to bring the Bronco Raptor to Australia.
Powering the Bronco Raptor is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost petrol V6, which confirms previous reports, and is a variation of the engine used in the US-market Explorer SUV.
Ford claims the Bronco Raptor is “the most powerful street-legal Bronco ever”.
The Blue Oval hasn’t revealed official power and torque figures yet, but is aiming for a power output of more than 400 horsepower (298kW).
This lines up with the engine tune used in the Explorer ST which makes 298kW of power and 562Nm of torque. Ford could potentially eke out a little more power, though.
Pictured: Bronco Wildtrak (left) & Bronco Raptor (right)
Should this engine tune carry over, it’ll give the rugged off-roader an increase of 67kW and 22Nm over the existing Bronco’s most powerful engine.
The twin-turbo petrol V6 engine is paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission and a two-speed transfer case that sends power to all four wheels. There’s also an electronic locking front and rear differentials.
The Bronco Raptor has active-valve dual exhausts with four selectable exhaust modes, including Normal, Sport, Quiet and Baja. It’s believed the upcoming Ranger Raptor will also be powered by the same twin-turbo V6 petrol engine and transmission combination.
The rugged dual-cab ute was previewed at the end of the next-generation Ranger‘s reveal in November 2021. It’s also set to be revealed in full during February 2022.
Only available in four-door body style as previously reported, the Bronco Raptor sets itself apart from the regular model with its Ford block lettering on the grille, which is a Raptor hallmark.
It also has unique LED headlights with amber daytime running lights and marking lights.
There’s a Ford Performance heavy-duty steel front bumper with integrated tow hooks, removable bumper end caps, removable Rigid LED fog lamps, Rigid off-road driving lights, a heavy-duty bash plate, and skid plates.
The bonnet of the Bronco Raptor is made of sheet-moulding compound (SMC) and has a raised bulge with Raptor logos on each side. There’s also an integrated bonnet vent section finished in Carbon Black.
Around the side the Bronco Raptor has unique front and rear quarter panels, SMC wheel arches with integrated vents, wheel arch extensions, and reinforced rock rails with removable side steps.
Under the flared wheel arches are a set of 37-inch BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tyres, with 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels available.
These tyre and extended wheel arch combination mean the Bronco Raptor is 250mm wider than the regular Bronco.
This is designed to help the Bronco Raptor feel “more confident [during] high-speed cornering”. As with the regular Bronco, the Raptor features removable doors and roof panels.
At the back the only real differences between the regular Bronco and the Bronco Raptor are a revised spare tyre holder with a higher-mounted third brake light to compensate for the standard 37-inch all-terrain tyre, dual exhaust tips and the Raptor badge.
Under the skin, Ford Performance has modified the Bronco Raptor as an Ultra4-inspired SUV.
Ultra4 racing trucks are versatile four-wheel drive racers capable of speeds of over 160km/h… or of scaling near vertical rock faces thanks to their ultra-low crawling gears.
These trucks compete in the Ultra4 racing series that sees them tackle in a wide range of terrain in endurance desert trials, competition rock crawling, and short course racing.
Still based on the Australian-developed T6 body-on-frame architecture, Ford says the Bronco Raptor has 50 per cent greater torsional rigidity than the regular four-door Bronco thanks to B-pillar cross bar and C-pillar reinforcement.
Ford Performance has once again collaborated with Fox to upgrade the high-performance off-road stability suspension (HOSS) system with “Live Valve” technology.
Ford says the Raptor HOSS 4.0 system is a similar position-sensitive damping design to the F-150 Raptor, and features Fox 3.1 internal bypass semi-active dampers that are uniquely tuned at the front and rear. There are also integrated reservoirs at the front and remote reservoirs in the rear.
On top of this, suspension height sensors and sensors at each corner of the Bronco Raptor monitor terrain conditions hundreds of times per second and adjust the suspension tune accordingly.
The solid rear axle on the Bronco Raptor has been upgraded to a semi-float Dana 50 heavy-duty AdvanTek with 235mm ring gear, while the Dana 44 AdvanTek front-drive includes upgraded half-shafts with 210mm ring gear.
These upgraded front and rear axles increase the track width by 218mm over the regular Bronco. Ford says the Bronco Raptor has larger front and rear driveshafts to support more wheel torque, although it doesn’t say how much more.
The Bronco Raptor also has 122mm more ground clearance than the base four-door model, which brings it to 333mm in total. A Mercedes-Benz G400 has 283mm of clearance, and the Land Rover Defender offers up to 290mm in its most aggressive off-road mode.
Unique Ford Performance-designed front and rear control arms help deliver maximum wheel travel of 13 inches (330mm) at the front and 14 inches (360mm) at the rear, increases of 40 and 60 per cent respectively over a base Bronco.
There’s a higher-capacity clutch and an upgraded transfer case which features a 3.06 4X4 LO ratio for up to 67.7:1 crawl ratio.
Building on the existing G.O.A.T (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) off-road modes, the Bronco Raptor has a Baja Mode that activates a turbo anti-lag, as well as Trail Control, Trail Turn Assist and Trail One-Pedal Driving modes.
The Bronco Raptor now has a maximum towing rating of 2041kg, up 453kg on the base Bronco.
Inside, the Bronco Raptor features a 12-inch digital drivers display with exclusive performance views that emphasise the tachometer and gear readings.
There’s also a horizontal 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system running Ford’s latest Sync4 software.
As previously reported, the Bronco Raptor is available in two different trims. There’s the standard Raptor model and then there’s an optional Lux Package.
Base Bronco Raptor models have Black Onyx vinyl upholstery and rubberised washout flooring.
The dark interior is accented with Code Orange on the G.O.A.T Modes dial, air vents, door netting, steering wheel stitching and Bronco logo. Other touch points including the grab handles, steering wheel bezel and gear shifter have low-gloss carbon fibre accents.
Available upgrades include perforated Black Onyx Neo suede upholstery with leather-wrapped outer seat bolsters, a vinyl-wrapped instrument panel topper, thicker and sportier steering wheel with magnesium paddle shifters and a black Raptor logo, carpeted flooring, and Code Orange seat belts.
The Lux Package adds a 10-speaker B&O premium sound system and adaptive cruise control.
Standard safety features include the following:
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection
- Forward collision warning
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Lane-keeping assist
- Reversing camera
The Bronco Raptor will be available in the following exterior paint colours:
- Hot Pepper Red Metallic
- Velocity Blue Metallic
- Eruption Green Metallic
- Shadow Black
- Iconic Silver Metallic
- Area 51 (Blue)
- Cactus Grey
- Cyber Orange Metallic Tri-Coat
- Oxford White
- Code Orange
The rugged Bronco Raptor will be manufactured at the same Wayne, Michigan plant as the regular Bronco.
At this stage there hasn’t been any official mention of pricing. Expect to see this closer to when order placements commence.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest.
