Ford’s long-awaited Bronco Raptor landed with 37-inch tires, a track widened by 8.6 inches, reinforced driveline components — and a V6 engine under the hood. While Muscle Car & Trucks learned that the firm’s 5.0-liter V8 fits, manufacturing-related constraints kept it out of the hardcore Bronco’s engine bay.
“The truck has to go through the same assembly line as [the Ranger and the standard Bronco] and we want to follow the same processes. The 2.7-liter V6 is part of the Nano family and the 3.0-liter is the upgrade to it,” explained Ford Performance vehicle engineering manager Derek Bier in an interview with Muscle Car & Trucks. Releasing the Raptor with an eight-cylinder engine would have required making changes in the factory that builds it or choosing another plant, and neither option was on the table during the development process.
“The 3.0-liter EcoBoost was always part of the [Bronco Raptor] program. There was never another powertrain considered for it,” Bier added.
The V6-only Raptor will exclusively be offered with four doors. As we previously reported, Ford told us that the long-wheelbase model is more popular than the short-wheelbase two-door version, it’s more stable for high-speed off-roading, and it provided space for upgrades to increase towing capacity to 4,500 pounds.
Ford will begin taking orders for the 2022 Bronco Raptor in March 2022, and pricing starts at about $70,000 including destination charges. In the meantime, if you want a Bronco with a V8, several aftermarket companies (including Hennessey) are planning to make one available.
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Source: www.autoblog.com