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The first batch of trial units of the Ranger Raptor has emerged from Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria.
As the first Ranger model to be introduced as part of the Ford Performance family, this high-speed off-road bakkie will set an entirely new benchmark for its segment says the automaker, when it is launched in South Africa during the first half of 2019.
10 trial units produced
In the meantime, in preparation for full-scale production of the all-new model, the Silverton Assembly Plant produced its first 10 official Ranger Raptor units as part of the Tooling Trials (TT) build-up phase, validating its high-tech assembly line that received an extensive upgrade through a R3-billion investment in its local operations, announced last year.
Ockert Berry, VP Operations, Ford Middle East and Africa: "This is a momentous occasion for everyone at Ford, as we witnessed our first Ranger Raptor TT unit coming off the line after more than 18 months of extensive upgrades and modifications to the Silverton assembly plant."
'We continue to invest in our local operations to meet growing demand for the Ranger, and are currently introducing new equipment on the assembly line to improve the handling of the chassis turn-over, adding incremental buffers in the Trim, Chassis and Final line as well as new shipping conveyors in the Fitment Centre," Berry adds.
"This is an additional R160-million investment in readiness for our expanded production capacity, commencing early next year.”
157kW/500Nm
As for the Ranger Raptor, Berry is particularly enthusiastic about this all-new model: “The Ranger Raptor is an exciting and very important model for us, as it pioneers an entirely new dimension for the pick-up or bakkie market and represents the first Ford Performance model to be produced in South Africa, destined for export to customers throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” Berry adds.
Powered by an all-new 157kW and 500Nm from a 2.0-litre bi-turbocharged engine assembled at the firm's Struandale Engine Plant in Port Elizabeth, and utilising a sophisticated new 10-speed automatic transmission.
Combined with Position Sensitive Damping (PSD) shock absorbers exclusively manufactured by FOX, an advanced Terrain Management System (TMS) that includes an exciting Baja mode, a toughened reinforced chassis, powerful all-disc braking system and specially developed BF Goodrich tyres.
