What’s the coolest car you own? Maybe it’s a Mustang Shelby GT350R or a big-block C2 Corvette. Whatever that car may be, there’s a good chance you don’t use it as your daily driver. Kris Kringle has a 1-of-1 vehicle that everyone knows and loves: a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, but even he needs something for daily travels. Of course, it would also be nice if he could use this vehicle like his signature sleigh if the need arises. Ford Australia designer Kirby Masterman and several of his colleagues around the world came up with a promising concept: the Ranger Raptor North Edition.
“The process was intense,” said Masterman. “Luckily I had great support from the team here in Australia, the ELF (Experimental Laboratory Foundation) team in the U.S. and my colleagues at our North Pole studio, I’m so glad I was asked to get involved in this project.”
One of the main objectives was to give the North Edition the ability to fly. That led to the creation of a small rocket engine. Retractable wings keep Santa’s rig stable as it streaks through the sky at 4,705,882 kph (2,924,099 mph). Somehow, Masterman and his fellow employees found a way to make it run on candy canes. It’s a Christmas miracle!
Whether Kris Kringle is on the job or relaxing, he’ll have some thoughtful features to enjoy. Santa is not known for using doors and he doesn’t have to with the North Edition. In fact, he can’t because all four doors are sealed. He can just get in through the top, as if it’s a big chimney. Once he’s on the move, Santa doesn’t have to worry about the front end burning up from the extreme speeds the North Edition is capable of hitting because it’s made out of the same Unobtainium used in his sleigh.
But he can keep his hot chocolate at the perfect temperature, which Ford calculated to be 58 °C (136.4 °F), with his rig’s heated cup holders (too bad the center console doesn’t have a cool box inside to ice down some eggnog, too). An artificial intelligence-equipped version of the SYNC 4A infotainment system provides list management, advanced navigation, and weather monitoring for Santa’s busiest night of the year. When that time comes, he can fit all the presents for more than 800 million children in the infinity load box. Once Christmas is over and Santa has some leisure time, he can fire up the full-width, self-cleaning barbecue hot plate integrated into the tailgate (caribou will not be on the menu).
The production version of the Ford Ranger Raptor North Edition will be on Kris Kringle’s wish list for quite a while – as in forever. The milk and cookies your children or grandchildren will leave out for him should help dull the pain of ho-ho-holding out hope.
To those of you who celebrate it, Merry Christmas to you and your family from the ClassicCars.com Journal!
Source: www.classiccars.com