If you want a pickup truck that can handle pretty much anything you throw at it, it’s hard to do better than a Ford Ranger Raptor or Bronco Raptor. They aren’t cheap, but they were designed with hardcore off-roading and desert racing in mind and are ridiculously capable on the trail. For any owners who want a little more out of their Raptors, Ford just announced a performance upgrade that will make your Bronco or Ranger even quicker than it already is.
On both vehicles, software updates for the 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 increase output to 455 horsepower and 536 pound-feet of torque. On the Ranger, that’s an increase of 50 hp and 106 lb-ft of torque, while on the Bronco, that works out to an extra 37 hp and 96 lb-ft. That’s not bad, but what makes it even better is that it isn’t as expensive as you might expect. At $825, that’s less than most Raptor owners spend in a month on energy drinks.
Ford didn’t say how the performance upgrade will impact acceleration figures, but it’s hard to imagine the old butt dyno wouldn’t be able to pick up that extra power. After all, we’re talking about an additional 100 lb-ft of torque. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Give the Mitsubishi Mirage an extra 100 lb-ft of torque and tell us it doesn’t drive differently. Yeah, exactly.
If you happen to be going to the Raptor Rally in Fairfield, Utah in September, then it’ll be even less expensive. Attendees will get 20 percent off coupon for Ford’s performance parts shop that they can use for the performance upgrade. And if you don’t have tickets yet, it looks pretty cool. Tickets are $500, but that reserves a car for you and a guest and includes “a day of off-road drive experiences, trail rides, expert workshops, meet and greets with pro off-road racers [and] hot lap opportunities.”
