2022 Ford Ranger Raptor: first shipment arrives in Australia, but there's a problem
An eagle-eyed reader has caught on camera a truckload of new-generation Ford Ranger Raptors on the streets of Melbourne. However, customers need to brake for a while.
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The first shipments of the new generation of high-performance Ford Ranger Raptor pickups have arrived in Australia, but they are not yet in showrooms.
A truckload of Ford Ranger Raptors was caught on camera in Melbourne this week by an eagle-eyed enthusiast who posted the photo on one of the Ford Ranger Facebook forums.
Despite the image being posted multiple times last night, the original commenter posted: “Looks like the Raptors are here! Seen north of Melbourne.”
However, customers waiting in line will have to be patient a little longer – because the trucks don’t make their way to Ford’s showrooms.
Drive understand that the Ford Ranger Raptors truckload is actually a delivery of media evaluation vehicles transported from the shipping dock to Ford Australia’s engineering center.
As is normal practice, media evaluation vehicles receive an add-on once before they make their move under various demanding conditions.
They were also one of the first examples to be rolled off the production line as a “customer-ready” vehicle.
A number of photos of the new-generation Ford Ranger Raptor have surfaced on Facebook forums in recent weeks, parked on Melbourne’s suburban streets (such as examples pictured above and below), and in shopping mall driveways and parking lots.
However, these examples are final pre-production engineering evaluation vehicles.
These earlier examples were the first to be launched to inspect tooling and other production processes, but were generally not vehicles that could be sold and instead used for dealer training and marketing exercises – and destined to be destroyed.
The four ‘Code Orange’ Ford Ranger Raptors on the transporter are believed to be media evaluation vehicles getting their final prep ahead of a press preview drive sometime in the coming month.
Ford hasn’t sent out invitations for a test drive for the new Ford Ranger Raptor, and hasn’t announced a date yet.
However, Drive understand the test drive event will be conducted close to the showroom arrival time.
Ongoing production disruptions and shipping bottlenecks that continue to plague the auto industry globally are also impacting deliveries of the Ford Ranger Raptor and Ford Everest.
Both models will now arrive in Australian showrooms in September rather than as planned in August.
Ford dealers vetted by Drive said customer delivery dates remained fluid due to ongoing supply and delivery constraints impacting all car brands globally.
Still, some good news for Ranger buyers stuck in the queue: Ford has announced an increase in production capacity in the last three months of the year to try to cut waiting times.
While delivery delays vary depending on the model, options and color choices in the regular Ford Ranger lineup, examples ordered today can have a lead time of six to 12 months.
However, a number of savvy buyers have jumped the queue by opting for the 2.0-liter twin-turbo diesel variant already available at dealerships, rather than waiting for the new V6 turbo diesel model to arrive.
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