Euro Spec 2019 Ford Ranger Raptor to Debut This Month

The European-spec Ford Ranger Raptor is expected to make its debut this month at Europe’s largest gaming event, Gamescom.

In a recent press release, Ford said it is bringing a ‘new performance vehicle’ to Gamescom 2018 that promises to “bring the fun back to on- and off-road driving.” The release also included a photo of the Ranger Raptor jumping over some hay bails at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, so it seems likely that the debut will be for the European-specification Ranger Raptor.

Microsoft will share official details on Forza Horizon 4 at Gamescom and we wouldn’t be shocked if the Ranger Raptor appeared in the game as well. The Horizon series is an open-world racing game that includes both on- and off-road driving, so the Ranger Raptor would be a fitting addition to the wildly popular Xbox and PC franchise.

Gamescom 2018 is set to be held in Cologne, Germany and will kick off on August 21st. Cologne has been the site of Ford Germany’s headquarters since 1930 and the home of Ford Europe since 1998, so Gamescom 2018 is a fitting place for the automaker to show off the latest addition to its performance lineup. Ford employs roughly 18,000 people in the area, mostly at its Fiesta plant, where it has built about nine million of the compact cars since 1979.

SEE ALSO: 2019 Ford Ranger Raptor Arrives With 210 HP Diesel, Off-Road Ready Suspension

The Ranger Raptor for Thailand, Australia and other Australasia markets was presented earlier this year. That model features a 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged diesel engine making 210 hp and 368 lb-ft of torque, which is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. It’s hard to say if the Euro and North American-spec models will be getting this engine, or if Ford will use another engine from its portfolio, such as the 310 hp 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the Mustang EcoBoost.

We’ll bring you all the details on the Euro-spec Ranger Raptor, assuming that’s what Ford will debut at Gamescom, following the press conference in Cologne.