It’s official! Ford has unveiled the most robust Bronco yet: The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor off-roader is more powerful, wider, taller, and even more off-road-ready than the “regular” Bronco introduced in 2020.
Customers can start ordering the Bronco Raptor in March, with vehicles scheduled to arrive during the U.S. summer, from June to September 2022.
Powering the Bronco Raptor is a 3.0-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 gasoline engine, a variation of the powerplant used in the U.S. market’s Explorer SUV. Ford claims the Bronco Raptor is “the most powerful street-legal Bronco ever.” Official power and torque figures have not been revealed yet, but it aims for an output of over 400 horsepower (298kW).
This aligns with the engine tuning used in the Explorer ST, generating 298 kW of power and 562 Nm of torque. However, Ford might extract a bit more power.
If this engine tuning continues, it will give the rugged off-roader a boost of 67kW and 22Nm over the existing Bronco’s most potent engine.
The twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and a two-speed transfer case that sends power to all four wheels. There are also front and rear differentials with electronic locking.
The Bronco Raptor features dual active valve exhausts with four selectable exhaust modes, including Normal, Sport, Quiet, and Baja. The upcoming Ranger Raptor is also rumored to be powered by the same transmission and twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine combination.
The robust double-cab truck was teased at the end of the next-generation Ranger presentation in November 2021 and will be fully revealed in February 2022.
Available only in a four-door body style, the Bronco Raptor stands out from the regular model with its signature Ford lettering on the grille, a hallmark of the Raptor.
It also features exclusive LED headlights with amber daytime running lights and position lights.
There’s a heavy-duty steel Ford Performance front bumper with integrated tow hooks, removable bumper end caps, removable rigid LED fog lights, rigid off-road driving lights, a heavy-duty skid plate, and protection plates.
The Bronco Raptor’s hood is made of sheet molding compound (SMC) and has a raised bulge with Raptor logos on each side. There’s also an integrated vent section in the hood finished in Carbon Black.
Around the side, the Bronco Raptor has unique front and rear quarter panels, SMC fender flares with integrated vents, flared fender extensions, and reinforced rock rails with removable steps.
Beneath the widened wheel arches are a set of 37-inch BFGoodrich KO2 off-road tires, with 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels available.
This combination of tire and extended wheel arch means the Bronco Raptor is 250 mm wider than the regular Bronco.
This is designed to help the Bronco Raptor feel “more secure in high-speed corners.” Like the regular Bronco, the Raptor features removable doors and roof panels.
At the rear, the only real differences between the normal Bronco and the Bronco Raptor are a revised spare tire carrier with a higher-mounted third brake light to accommodate the standard 37-inch off-road tire, dual-tip exhaust outlets, and the Raptor badge.
Underneath the skin, Ford Performance has modified the Bronco Raptor as an Ultra4-inspired SUV.
Ultra4 race trucks are versatile four-wheel-drive racing vehicles capable of reaching speeds over 160 km/h or climbing near-vertical rock walls thanks to their super-slow gears.
These trucks compete in the Ultra4 racing series, facing a wide range of terrains in desert endurance races, rock crawling competitions, and short-course races.
Still based on the T6 body-on-frame architecture developed in Australia, Ford says the Bronco Raptor has 50 percent more torsional stiffness than the regular four-door Bronco thanks to the B-pillar crossbar and C-pillar reinforcement.
Ford Performance has once again collaborated with Fox to upgrade the high-performance off-road stability suspension system (HOSS) with “Live Valve” technology.
Ford says the Raptor HOSS 4.0 system is a position-sensitive damping design similar to the F-150 Raptor, featuring uniquely tuned Fox 3.1 internal bypass semi-active shocks at the front and rear. There are also integrated front reservoirs and remote reservoirs at the rear.
In addition to this, sensors on each corner of the Bronco Raptor monitor terrain conditions hundreds of times per second and adjust the suspension accordingly.
The solid rear axle of the Bronco Raptor has been upgraded to a heavy-duty AdvanTek semi-floating Dana 50 with a 235mm ring gear, while the front Dana 44 AdvanTek axle includes upgraded half-shafts with a 210mm ring gear.
These enhanced front and rear axles increase the track width by 218mm compared to the regular Bronco. Ford says the Bronco Raptor has larger front and rear driveshafts to support more torque at the wheels, although it doesn’t specify how much more.
The Bronco Raptor also has 122mm more ground clearance than the base four-door model, bringing it to a total of 333mm. A Mercedes-Benz G400 has 283mm of ground clearance, and the Land Rover Defender offers up to 290mm in its most aggressive off-road mode.
Exclusive front and rear control arms designed by Ford Performance help deliver a maximum wheel travel of 13 inches (330mm) at the front and 14 inches (360mm) at the rear, increases of 40 and 60 percent respectively over a base Bronco.
There’s a higher-capacity clutch and an upgraded transfer case featuring a 3.06 4X4 LO ratio for a crawl ratio of up to 67.7:1.
Building on the existing GOAT (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) off-road modes, the Bronco Raptor has a Baja mode that activates an anti-lag turbo, as well as Trail Control, Trail Turn Assist, and Trail One-Pedal Driving modes.
The Bronco Raptor now has a maximum towing capacity of 2041 kg, 453 kg more than the basic Bronco.
Inside, the Bronco Raptor features a 12-inch digital gauge cluster with exclusive performance views emphasizing the tachometer and gear readout.
There’s also a 12-inch horizontal touchscreen infotainment system running Ford’s latest Sync4 software.
As reported earlier, the Bronco Raptor is available in two different versions. There’s the standard Raptor model, and then there’s the optional Lux package.
Base Bronco Raptor models have Black Onyx vinyl upholstery and washout rubber flooring.
The dark interior is accented with Code Orange on the GOAT mode dial, vent grilles, door meshes, steering wheel stitching, and the Bronco logo. Other touchpoints, such as the grab handles, steering wheel bezel, and gear shifter, feature low-gloss carbon fiber details.
Available upgrades include perforated Black Onyx Neo suede upholstery with seat outer reinforcements lined in leather, a vinyl-lined upper dashboard panel, a thicker and sportier steering wheel with magnesium shift paddles and a black Raptor logo, carpeted flooring, and Code Orange seat belts.
The Lux package adds a 10-speaker B&O premium sound system and adaptive cruise control.
Standard safety features include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assistance, and a rearview camera.
