For anyone looking forward to a new iteration of the Ford Ranger (*raises hand*), it seems like November 24 would be a good day to mark on your calendar. In a teaser video released today on YouTube, the Blue Oval announced they’ll be showing what they’re calling a ‘global’ midsize pickup truck on that day.
It will be broadcast by the crew at Ford Europe, and the teaser was voiced by an Aussie. Sounds pretty global to us.
Of course, we’ve been down this road before, with the Ranger Raptor appearing in other markets but refusing to play on this side of the pond, not to mention the fact that the existing Ranger was shilled in other countries long before it showed up stateside. The same goes for Nissan, who for years had a so-called ‘global’ pickup they sold just about everywhere else except for, well, here. These memories put us on high alert.
Nevertheless, the company promises this Ranger will be sold in 180 markets, surely one of which will have 50 Stars & 13 Stripes on its national flag. The glimpses of pickup shown in the teaser above show familiar design cues, including the stylized fender vents which appear on the F-150 and Super Duty, plus a c-shaped light signature that is currently part and parcel of the Ford truck lineup in this country.
There’s no word on powertrain at this point, though it’s worth noting that Ranger currently doesn’t offer a V6 between its front fenders in America. Shadetree types tend to opine that the existing 2.7L EcoBoost found in the F-150 will fit the engine bay of a Ranger without a tremendous amount of difficulty, and you gotta think that the company which literally invented the assembly line can figure out how to stuff a few more horses under the hood of its tweener pickup. The same goes for Fox shocks and other Raptor equipment. Here’s hoping, at least.
Spy shots taken by eagle-eyed photogs have captured development mules that seem to retain proportions similar to the current truck. Expect a continued offering of both SuperCab and SuperCrew body styles, since both of them seem to sell in numbers sufficient to warrant their continuation – not to mention most of its competitors do the same. Mirroring engine choices in the Bronco would be a smart move, but stranger things have happened at the Glass House either in the name of profits or politics. If the Bronco’s 7-speed manual was ported to the new Ranger, it would fulfill the dreams of many Blue Oval fans.
Whatever’s in the hopper, all will be revealed on November 24 on the Ford Europe YouTube channel.
[image: Ford]
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