Is this the next Ford Ranger Raptor?

It’s getting closer. The new-generation Ford Ranger is nearly here, with official teaser images and promo videos now coming thick and fast amid a flurry of unofficial spy photos of the Australian-developed ute.

But while mainstream 2022 Ranger models are taking shape, the new V6-powered Ford Ranger Raptor dual-cab 4x4 flagship hasn’t been seen in anything other than heavy camouflage. Until now.

Based on our sources and leaked images – including a variety out of the Ranger’s manufacturing base in Thailand in recent weeks – the team at our sister title Carsales has put together this rendering that provides the best look yet at the incoming Raptor.

Expected to launch in Australia within a year of the new-generation Ford Ranger’s showroom arrival in the first half of 2022, the new Raptor gets an all-LED headlight array, including main beams, high beams and C-shaped daytime running lights.

Taking inspiration from the bigger Ford F-150 Raptor pick-up and the smaller Maverick ute, the Aussie-bred Ranger Raptor’s front-end takes on a more chiselled, squarer and tougher look, thanks in part to its taller-looking bonnet.

An Americanised grille with bold ‘FORD’ lettering will differentiate the new Raptor from lesser Rangers, while a steel bash plate with recovery hooks provides extra battle armour.

Under the chunky new hood, which now features extractor vents like on the Ford F-150 Raptor, will be turbocharged V6 muscle – likely petrol in the US with up to 300kW on tap, and diesel in most other markets including Australia.

The six-cylinder diesel mill is expected to have outputs of 200kW-plus and around 600Nm. It’s a development of Ford’s Power Stroke 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, and the new Raptor will come standard with the same 10-speed automatic available across the new Ranger line-up.

Completing the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor's off-road upgrades will be a substantial suspension lift including a coil-sprung rear-end and Fox shocks, and wider wheel-arches housing 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 33-inch BF Goodrich All-Terrain tyres.

It’s not yet clear whether we’ll see a variety of Ford Ranger Raptor models, such as a replacement for the recently released Raptor X that tops the current range for a cool $79,390 plus ORCs, or potentially a Raptor R.

But like all 2022 Ford Rangers, the next Raptor will bring a dramatic uptick in multimedia technology, including Ford’s latest SYNC4 infotainment system accompanied by a larger central touch-screen and fully digital instrument cluster.