Kumar Galhotra, president, Americas & International Markets Group at Ford Motor Company accepts the award for the Ford Bronco that won the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year award at the 2022 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year award ceremony at Huntington Place in Detroit on January 11, 2022.
(Photo : JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Ford Motor has expanded its Bronco SUV lineup, with the US automaker including a new Raptor model to its fleet. The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor is set to go on sale in the United States later this year, with the starting price of the much-awaited SUV placed at around $70,000.
Ford CEO Jim Farley released a statement regarding the SUV's launch, saying they poured all of their passion and all of their Bronco and Raptor know-how into creating this absolute desert-racing beast. Design chief Paul Wraith echoed his boss' sentiments, saying the Bronco Raptor is a very high-performance vehicle that is a hungry beast.
The arrival of the 2022 Bronco Raptor comes at a time when Ford attempts to fulfill an order bank of tens of thousands of reservation holders for its current SUV models. The automaker announced that most of the first new Raptor models would be offered to its existing reservation holders. They will then start taking orders in March of this year, with deliveries of the Bronco Raptor set to begin this summer.
Ford uses Raptor name to increase profit margins
Adding performance models to their fleets has been a growing trend nowadays among automakers, who look to increase their profit margins on their vehicles and generate huge attention for their companies in the process. Just last week, General Motors launched to much fanfare a high-performance Cadillac Escalade model.
Ford has done this kind of thing before, using the Raptor brand for variations of its highly popular F-150 pickup in the North American market. The Raptor name, which has a huge following worldwide, also was used in global markets for a variation of the Ranger midsize pickup.
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Bronco Raptor designed for desert racing and rock crawling
Ford performance vehicle engineering manager Derek Bier spoke during a media event for the SUV launch, saying, "This is truly not only a Bronco, but it has earned the Raptor badge." The Bronco Raptor was specifically designed for extreme rock crawling and desert racing, with the SUV featuring a spate of new performance and off-road parts.
The Bronco Raptor is nearly 10 inches wider than the other Bronco models, making its size closer to the F-150 Raptors. The 2022 Bronco Raptor also features a "FORD" Raptor grill similar to the F-150. The vehicle also features an enhanced hood and unique taillights. The Bronco Raptor also has an upscale interior, including a new 12-inch driver instrument cluster and additional structural bars.
Ford decided to put a 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine inside the 2022 Bronco Raptor. This will generate more than 400 horsepower for the vehicle, a huge upgrade compared to other Bronco models. For comparison, the 2.7-liter twin-turbo, the Bronco's current top engine, can produce a maximum of just 330 horsepower.
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