Ranger MS-RT is Ford's Raptor for the streets

We all know the next-generation Ford Ranger was primarily engineered to take on the beaten path, especially when you take a look at the off-road Raptor version. But somehow, someone at the Blue Oval thought, “We already have a lot of off-road-themed trucks. Why don’t we make one that looks at home on the black stuff?”

Say no more, folks. Ford Europe has come up with the slick Ranger MS-RT. And yes, it’s every bit of a looker as its off-road-ready brother.

The Ranger MS-RT is a truck developed with the help of M-Sport. For the unfamiliar, M-Sport has been in charge of Ford’s World Rally Championship program since the days of the Escort WRC in the late 90s. Recently, they also took charge of preparing the next-generation Ranger for the Dakar Rally. Quite simply, M-Sport can be closely compared to Mitsubishi’s Ralliart.

When you have all that expertise going on, you’ll know M-Sport did it right with the Ranger MS-RT. Ford and M-Sport increased the track width of the truck, lowered the ride height, and fitted a firmer suspension for better on-road handling. If we talk about numbers, the MS-RT version is 82mm wider and 40mm lower than the standard Ranger.

In terms of the looks, they fitted a honeycomb grille with an integrated chin splitter in the front, which blends in nicely with the bulging fenders that remind us of the Fast and Furious era F-150 SVT Lightning.

There’s also a proper diffuser element at the back, along with small ducktail spoilers for good measure. Completing the look of the Ranger MS-RT is a set of 21-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels fitted on low-profile, high-performance tires from Continental.

Inside, you get reclinable bucket-type seats in front, which are finished with blue stitching and MS-RT badging. For that motorsport-style vibe, the Ranger MS-RT also has a blue 12 o’clock marker on the D-cut steering wheel.

Powering the Ranger MS-RT is an unchanged version of the 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel that puts out 250 PS and 600 Nm of torque. All that grunt is sent to all four wheels through a 10-speed automatic gearbox.

Perhaps, the best thing about the Ranger MS-RT is that Ford will be selling it as a a production model. For now, the Ranger MS-RT will go on sale in Europe. But given how good-looking the pickup truck is in this form, we won’t surprised if it makes its way to other countries. Hopefully, that includes us.