2022 Ford Bronco Raptor First Look: Does It Live Up to Its Name?

Drum roll, please: The Blue Oval has put two of our favorite words together—Bronco and Raptor—and finally coughed up details we have pined for regarding the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor.

No one on the planet should be surprised that a Bronco Raptor has been in the works, but we now know when it is coming, its price, details about its doors and roof, and most important what will be under the hood. And yes, the official name is Bronco Raptor—”Warthog” was the winning code name for the project from an internal competition and was never meant for use outside Ford’s halls.

Essential Hardware

Here’s the big news: The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor comes one way, with four doors, a removable hard top, 37-inch tires, and a version of the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 found in the Explorer ST. Ford promises it will deliver more than 400 horsepower, but the exact number, as well as torque specs, have not been finalized.

Ford Performance got its hands on the 3.0-liter EcoBoost engine and started customizing it to meet the requirements of the 2022 Bronco Raptor. The SUV needed to excel at high speeds on- and off-road, as well as at extremely low rock-crawling speeds. Engineers worked to increase the amount of air moving in and out of the engine, reducing induction losses, and incorporating low-pressure ducts, a new exhaust, and even a simplified muffler. The goal was to increase horsepower at a higher rpm so you can keep your foot to the floor all the way to the redline and not fall off a cliff when you reach it. The Ford Bronco Raptor also uses the company’s 10-speed automatic transmission.

This much-hyped SUV is essentially a Ford Ranger Raptor under a well-equipped Bronco. The Raptor treatment made it 9.8 inches wider and 3.0 inches taller, with 13.1 inches of ground clearance riding on standard BF Goodrich 37-inch K02 all-terrain tires. Its minimum running ground clearance is 13.1 inches, or 1.6 inches higher than the Bronco Badlands Sasquatch. Inspired by the Ultra4 race series, this Bronco has a Raptor HOSS 4.0 race-ready suspension system and fully boxed frame with new shock towers. Maximum wheel travel is 13.0 inches in front and 14.0 inches at the rear.

How Much Does the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor Cost?

The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor’s starting price is $69,995, and Ford will begin accepting orders in March ahead of deliveries this summer.

This tasty treat rounds out a growing Bronco family that first broke cover with the Bronco R teaser that raced in the SCORE Baja 1000 in 2020, followed by the mainstream production 2021 Bronco that went on sale last year. Next we saw the $250,000 2023 Bronco DR (for Desert Ready), a turnkey off-road-only racer coming later this year with plans to make only 50 examples with a Coyote 5.0-liter V-8. Now we have the much-anticipated street-legal Bronco Raptor.

But don’t hold your breath for a street-legal fire-breathing Bronco with a V-8: Ford thinks the twin-turbo V-6 is just right, and the powerplant has the added advantage of actually fitting inside the Bronco Raptor’s engine bay.

The latest Bronco also rounds out the Raptor family that began with the Ford F-150 Raptor and includes a Ford Ranger Raptor in other parts of the world. The Bronco family shares the Ranger platform.

Raptor Was a Late Addition

The Raptor model was not a given from the start of the Bronco program. Bronco design manager Ryan Olsson was called in about three months after the main Bronco program wrapped up—about 2.5 years ago—to start formally sketching a Raptor version. Talk of a Bronco Raptor had been around for a while, but the project first needed a feasibility study. For Olsson, getting the go-ahead to put pencil to paper meant revisiting old ideas and wish lists. “We were able to do things we wanted to do with the base Bronco and couldn’t,” he said.

Marching orders: nothing superfluous. Everything had to make the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor faster and more capable. The design task was to beautify the engineering for a Bronco ready to conquer the SCORE Baja 1000 and the Ultra4 King of the Hammers off-road races. The credo: “boundless and badass.”

“We poured all of our passion and all of our Bronco and Raptor know-how into creating this absolute desert-racing beast,” Ford president and CEO Jim Farley said in a release. “It’s the real deal. It’s not for show and it’s not for everybody. But for people who love to get out in the wild, it’s the ultimate.”

Two-Door Bronco Raptor Never in the Cards

From the start, the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor was to be four-door only—a two-door with a shorter wheelbase was never in the plans and still isn’t.

The roof inspired a bit more debate. For structural integrity when flying over desert whoopties, there was talk of a fixed roof. But it went against the “wild and kicking” outdoor Bronco spirit. Say hello to a removable hard top rather than a soft top; the latter was considered, but a removable hard top does a better job of keeping out dust and dirt, and it provides a quieter on-road experience with NVH liners mounted inside.

To reinforce the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor when desert racing, there are two additional crossbars that span the width of the vehicle, contributing to a Raptor with a torsional-rigidity increase of more than 50 percent compared to a standard Bronco four-door model. The aluminum B-bow is carefully placed to ensure helmet clearance and to not impinge on the open-air experience. The C-pillar reinforcement uses a carbon-fiber center section to reduce weight. Also required was additional Fox damping compared to the F-150 Raptor, due to the Bronco’s shorter wheelbase. The result offers similar suspension travel, the same brakes, and much of the same tech, said Ford Performance chief engineer Carl Widmann.

Spotting the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor

The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor is recognizable thanks to its amber LED lighting and a domed hood specific to the Raptor. The unique grille doubles the air flow into the engine compartment, and extra louvers in the hood and fenders help extract this extra air. Wider fender flares cover the jumbo tires, special fender liners are designed to shed mud and ice, and stone-peck guards help protect the rear fenders from rocks kicked up by the front wheels. Wheel choices include 17-inch cast aluminum, a standard bead-lock-capable design, and an optional bead-lock wheel of forged aluminum.

Skidplates and bash plates have been upgraded, and engineers designed running boards that bolt directly to the rock rails. Fasteners for the latter are conveniently located above the mud line, eliminating the need to crawl under the truck. The idea came from watching would-be owners who had passengers who struggled to get into vehicles without running boards, as well as “sophisticate” buyers who want to avoid getting their clothes dirty.

Engineers also devised a unique rear quarter panel that accommodates the gas tank fuel door in the narrow remaining space. They also needed new taillights that extend further out so they can be seen on either side of the 37-inch spare tire on the back, as well as a new CHMSL (center high-mounted stop light).

Ripping Around the Desert in Style

Ford wanted higher-quality materials executed with better fit and finish for the Bronco Raptor. It is fitted with the High package as a starting point. (More on that shortly.) For a more upscale look, sewn vinyl wraps the top of the instrument panel, with leather seat bolsters and carbon-fiber trim, as well. Paddle shifters are made of magnesium.

The Bronco Raptor has specific seats made of a durable and washable microsuede to keep occupants from slipping, even with the additional bolstering. There are Code Orange seat belts and accents around the cabin that coordinate with the two interior color choices: Black Onyx and Rhapsody Blue. There are 10 standard exterior colors in the first model year.

In front of the driver is a 12.0-inch digital cluster; the base Bronco has an 8.0-inch cluster and analog gauges. The High package means the Raptor comes well-appointed with Sync 4, voice recognition, and heated seats. Moving up to the Lux package brings wireless charging, a heated steering wheel, a 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, and adaptive cruise control.

The SUV’s true purpose is reinforced with grab handles on the dash and center console. And owners should scout around for Easter eggs.

Off-Road Primer

Toggle the steering wheel to engage My Mode for your preferred exhaust sound (possible with the active exhaust system), as well as steering and suspension settings. Meanwhile, the Performance View on the digital gauge cluster has a huge tach in the middle. All screens and graphics try to simplify the wealth of information available to help the off-road user and desert racer, with gear readings and graphics to show if a diff is locked, damper status, pitch and roll, and more. Ford research indicates 80 percent of buyers will take their 2022 Bronco Raptor off-road.

In fact, the Bronco Raptor starts with the six G.O.A.T. modes found on all Broncos—each accompanied by fun graphics—with a unique calibration for the Baja mode and the addition of a seventh mode: tow/haul, which allows the SUV to increase its towing capacity to 4,500 pounds, or 1,000 pounds more than the base Bronco’s. A unique hitch and extra bracing contributed to the greater towing capacity so owners can bring their side-by-side ATVs to the off-road park.

Ultimately, the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor is the halo for the Bronco lineup. Those are huge shoes to fill, and there will be many who will decry the lack of a V-8 engine option. But Ford engineers are unwavering in their belief their latest SUV lives up to both of its storied names.

Keyword: 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor First Look: Does It Live Up to Its Name?