Having denounced the idea of a Raptor variant as far back as 2019, Ford has once again ruled the idea of an ultra-hardcore Everest out, this time along the lines of the Ranger Super Duty.
No Raptor…
“[I] am not really seeing that come to any fruition, purely on the basis that Everest and [Ranger] Raptor have two very different profiles in the portfolio and serve different requirements,” Ford South Africa boss, Neale Hill, told The Citizen six years ago.
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Despite the subsequent reveal of the Wildtrak, the Blue Oval has consistently indicated that an indirect alternative to the left-hand drive Bronco Raptor for right-hand drive markets won’t be due to its mentioned market and buyer focus.
..And now, no Everest Super Duty
In the latest development, Dearborn’s operations head for Australia has quashed the idea of an Everest Super Duty to rival the Toyota Land Cruiser 76.
Describing demand for such a model as “low to nil” Andrew Birkic told carsales.com.au that the focus and reserves gone into the Ranger Super Duty leaves little for so-called “hobby” projects such as the creation of an Everest Super Duty.
“You can be very easily distracted by hobby projects, but at the end of the day, based on the investment we’ve put into this vehicle and based on the volumes, this is not a hobby,” Birkic said.
He continued, “We’re doing really well with Everest, it predominantly is geared towards passenger and family, and that’s where it’s selling.
“We don’t have endless resources, so you have to make decisions, and we’ve made a very intentional decision to nail this truck (Ranger Super Duty), while we’ll continue to look at the evolution of Everest in where it needs to play”.
Shared platform challenges
Despite making use of the same T6 platform as the Ranger and Bronco, the publication states that the difference in suspension layout from coil springs to a leaf spring arrangement presents a further challenge in making an Everest Super Duty a reality.
This means that the Tremor – not offered in South Africa – will remain the most off-road focused derivative available, while locally, this role is fulfilled by the Wildtrak.
Changes in 2026
As indicated earlier this week, the revised Everest range, inclusive of the 2.3 EcoBoost petrol engine in place of the discontinued 2.0-litre Panther bi-turbodiesel, has been revealed ahead of its South African arrival in the first half of next year.
Similarly, the same changes, including the expansion of the 3.0-litre Lion turbodiesel V6 engine to more derivatives, will be rolled-out to the Ranger, but exclude the Super Duty as well as the locally-made but exported-only Ranger Plug-in Hybrid.
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