If Ford Made a Raptor SUV, It Would Look a Lot Like This Beast
You and six of your best buds could blast through the dunes, no problem.
The Ford Everest is another one of those diesel-powered SUVs that we'll never see Stateside—unfair, but that's a discussion for some other day. Folks in Australia and across Oceania love modifying these things to take on jungle trails, and there's a decent amount of aftermarket support for them. That being said, this Raptor front-end conversion spotted on the streets of Thailand is likely a one-off product of the country's rampant custom scene, and it's got me thinking wishful thoughts.
Now, the Everest—like the upcoming 2021 Bronco—is built atop the global Ranger pickup's architecture. It's available with a 2.0-liter twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder as well as a 3.2-liter turbo diesel inline-five, just like the Ranger, and it even has the same front fascia design. Thai tuners have made a name for themselves by transforming the midsize trucks into full-size Raptor lookalikes, and it's my guess that a similar approach was taken with this Everest posted on Facebook by B2BCarShow.
Of course, there are other upgrades that help this rig pull off the Raptor SUV look. It rides on lifted suspension and taller all-terrain tires, and don't forget the massively flared fenders. There's no telling exactly which engine is underneath the hood, but in the right state of tune, either of the Everest's compression-ignition lumps can do the job just fine.
Who's to say if we'll ever see a Raptor variant of the Bronco in the United States, or even a Ranger Raptor, for that matter. What's important here is that with a trick front-end conversion and a little help on the suspension—perhaps from Ford Performance itself—an Average Joe could create something original. It just won't be in the form of an Everest since Ford refuses to sell it here.
Until Americans turn out in droves to buy the select few diesel SUVs available on our shores, we won't see many more make it to market. That's disappointing, but at least a person can dream.
Correction 07/17/2020 at 4:05 p.m.: A previous version of this article stated the Everest's 3.2-liter turbo diesel engine was a V6 rather than an inline-five. The relevant text has been updated.
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