Ford Ranger Raptor could go PHEV, teaming turbo V6 with electric motor for BIG power

Ford is mulling the transformation of the Ranger Raptor distinguished-ute accurate into a experience-in hybrid powerhouse teaming a turbocharged petrol V6 engine with an electric motor and hybrid battery.

Making the Ranger Raptor a PHEV would assassinate two birds with one stone for Ford. The switch would safe the excessive-efficiency Ranger grand extra highly efficient, nonetheless it would additionally nick the mountainous-rig’s legitimate CO2 emissions.

The excessive pollution profile of the Ranger Raptor is an huge field for Ford in Australia since the Albanese federal authorities’s New Automobile Emissions Frequent (NVES) is now in drive—and the excessive-CO2 Raptor falls sharply unsuitable of NVES limits on emissions.

Readers is liable to be shocked to study that around one in five Ranger gross sales in Australia is of a Raptor—the head-pause, $90,440 variant which utilises a (non-hybrid) 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 engine producing 292kW of vitality and 583Nm of torque for a sub-6.0 2nd 0-100km/h lunge.

There’s a tag paid for the Raptor’s rorty efficiency. For owners, it’s at the bowser (with valid-world gas expend blowing out the 11.5L/100km legitimate advise), nonetheless for Ford, the punishment will seemingly be what the Raptor’s 262g/km legitimate CO2 emissions will must the company’s NVES base line.

Briefly, NVES punishes carmakers that breach an total automobile CO2 target. In 2025, the limit for mild industrial vehicles is 210g/km, nonetheless in 2029, it is build of dwelling to be accurate 110g/km. While the Raptor is seriously excessive in CO2, even the diesel V6 verisons form 222/gkm—over the limit.

But turning the Raptor accurate into a PHEV for the 2030s—or earlier—would alleviate Ford’s NVES considerations by dramatically reducing the on-paper CO2 emissions to the point where the Raptor would perchance presumably presumably even rating credits below the NVES rather than safe bigger the likelihood of fines for Ford.

Making a Ranger Raptor PHEV is fully doable in line with Ford global vp of developed product pattern, Jim Baumbick, who Chasing Automobiles quizzed at the Raptor experience-in’s European launch top week.

“You may perchance well presumably presumably presumably apply the [hybrid] system to other propulsion types. I’ll expend the F-150 as an instance. We expend our 3.5L V6 EcoBoost, coupled with a hybrid transmission, and it delivers efficiency above a V8 and enables [7.2kW] of Pro Vitality [vehicle-to-load],” stated Baumbick.

“[We are] building out the portfolio of capabilities for Ranger,” Baumbick stated. “I would allege it is the correct time for PHEV [for Ranger]. I deem that is going to launch up our clients around the advantages of electrification with none substitute-off to what the [pick-up] truck’s in a position to.”

The aforementioned F-150 PowerBoost hybrid produces 321kW/772Nm from its series-parallel hybrid powertrain, which contains a 2kWh battery and 10-tempo automatic—nonetheless the F-150 isn’t a experience-in hybrid.

If the F-150’s 3.5-litre V6 modified into teamed with the Ranger PHEV’s 75kW electric motor and a circa-15kWh lithium ion battery to form a Ranger PHEV, Chasing Automobiles estimates that its CO2 emissions would be rated around 100g/km—slashing the Raptor’s paper pollution by greater than half of.

Remodeling the Raptor accurate into a PHEV powerhouse would place a matter to the T6.2 Ranger equal or easiest the outputs of the BYD Shark 6 (321kW/650Nm) and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV (300kW/750Nm)—a excessive mission in mild of BYD openly mulling the advent of a rugged, off-roading Shark 6 neat.

The pork up to PHEV for the Raptor would perchance presumably presumably even place a matter to the distinguished-ute’s braked towing potential upgraded to 3500kg from the fresh non-hybrid V6’s 2500kg, which trails many of the range by one tonne.

For Ford, being so reliant on the excessive-CO2 Ranger ute and Everest wagon (while additionally selling comparatively few EVs), fines below NVES would perchance presumably presumably simply attain into the tens of thousands and thousands of greenbacks if the manufacturer doesn’t persuade Aussies to purchase hybrids as a replace of pure combustion engines.

It’s why Ford has impartial as of late launched the 207kW/697Nm Ranger PHEV in XLT, Sport, Wildtrak and Stormtrak guises. Combining a turbo four-cylinder petrol engine, 75kW electric motor and 11.8kWh battery slashes legitimate CO2 emissions to accurate 66g/km—four times cleaner than a Raptor.

But while the conscientious Ranger PHEV’s 3500kg towing and 6.9kW of Pro Vitality AC shops (offering juice for work instruments and other dwelling equipment) safe it a precious different to diesel, its middling vitality and mediocre 43km (WLTP) electric range a puny of limit its chilly relate.

Even a PHEV Raptor would perchance presumably presumably level-headed breeze on six-cylinder vitality in its sports modes or when its traction battery modified into exhausted. Nothing would pause Ford from integrating loud expend modes, even though in advise to rating highly on legitimate gas financial system checks, it would seemingly default to electric mode.