Image via Ford
There’s no doubt about it, an off-road vehicle war is brewing among automakers, and Ford wants to really up the ante. CEO Jim Farley recently sent everyone into a frenzy by revealing his company is working on a super off-roader to blow away the competition and set the Blue Oval apart.
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Farley actually called the secretive project “an off-road supercar” which would apparently carry the Raptor name. That’s an interesting move since all the Raptor models up to this point are trucks (including the Bronco).
Naturally, a lot of people thought of the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and Porsche 911 Safaris. But that might not be quite what Ford has in mind. But Farley admitted the off-road supercar project is in the early stages of development, so it’s unclear exactly what it’s going to be.
Speaking with TopGear.com, Farley said the objective with the new model and Ford’s other Raptor models is to “own off-road.” Considering many a few years ago would’ve laughed and said Jeep already did that, but now Stellantis’ cash cow is suffering, it’s possible Ford could accomplish just that.
Just don’t expect a Mustang Raptor, at least not anytime soon. There have been rumors Ford is working on such a thing, but at least for this super off-roader project it sounds like we’ll be seeing something purpose-built from the ground up. As Farley said, it won’t be “a version of a car” already in the model lineup.
But what will it be? Another Trophy Truck made for consumers like the F-150 Raptor wouldn’t make sense, even if it were faster and more powerful. After all, Ford’s done that and it would be too similar to really shake things up.
Could it be something more like a rally fighter? Or a dune buggy? Or a super rock crawler? The possibilities are almost endless, which might be why Ford isn’t entirely sure what direction the project will take, yet.
Image via Ford
