Ford’s family of Raptors might be growing. What appears to be a Bronco Sport Raptor was just spotted by our spy photographers virtually undisguised in Michigan, showing off a taller suspension, fender flares, and a serious set of off-roading tires. It even has Raptor badging.
Specifically, there are three Raptor badges seen pasted to the car. One on each front door, where you’d normally find the Bronco Sport’s trim level displayed, and another on the rear hatch. It’s a fairly bold move, considering Ford has yet to suggest the existence of such a trim. We’ve reached out to Ford for some clarity, but have yet to receive a response.
Photo by: KGP Photography
Photo by: KGP Photography
Photo by: KGP Photography
Ford recently introduced a Sasquatch package for the Bronco Sport, which adds things like skidplates, all-terrain tires, and slightly more suspension travel and ground clearance. The SUV in these pictures goes a lot farther, with several more inches of clearance. There’s also the tires, which look to be BFGoodrich KM3 mud-terrains—more serious rubber than what’s used on the F-150 Raptor. There’s even a set of bolted-on fender flares to shroud the rubber.
Our spy photographer snagged these pictures as the SUV was driving between Ford facilities, reportedly from an engineering building to a benchmarking building. What’s under the hood is unclear, though there are likely some upgrades from the Sport’s normal 250-horsepower inline-four. The revised exhaust hints at a revised powertrain, indicating this is likely more than just a cosmetic upgrade.
While there likely isn’t enough room for a V-6, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Ford squeeze over 300 hp from a turbocharged inline-four. The company’s done it before, after all, in the Focus RS.
The front and rear fascias likely aren’t production-intent—they look to be lifted straight from the Sasquatch package. But we expect the tow hook mounts to return, seeing as how this is very clearly an off-road-ready trim. We also have no explanation for the stuff on the roof rack or the quirky Mothman sticker on the rear glass.
Photo by: KGP Photography
It’s not clear when Ford plans to reveal the Bronco Sport Raptor, or if it even plans to put it into production—for all we know, this could be a one-off design study built for some special event. But given the public’s lust for everything off-roading these days, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this thing go into production.
Either way, thanks to these pictures, we know it exists.
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Source: KGP Photography
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