Ford’s Ranger Raptor is a spectacularly capable 4×4 double-cab, but there will always be those customers who desire even more.
To answer the demand, California’s APG has produced a very tidy upgrade of Ford’s standard Ranger, to Raptor-rivalling specification.
APG’s aim was to increase wheel travel and terrain taming ability. Toachieve this, meant altering the Ranger’s bodywork and the result is a double-cab bakkie with tremendous presence.
The factory Ranger Raptor is a wide bakkie, but this APG version adds an incredible 254 mm of width with its interpretation. Fabricated from carbon-fibre, the APG bodywork includes massively flared wheel arches.
Although the APG Ranger’s bodywork looks radical, it serves a purpose. To ensure there isn’t tyre rub on the inside of the wheel arches, during maximum suspension compression, APG had to reshape them.
Beyond the new bumpers, a custom roof rack and additional LED illumination points, the APG Ranger’s most significant feature is its suspension upgrade.
APG’s long-travel suspension kit for Ranger includes new upper and lower control arms – all of which, are powder-coated. The tie rods and front axle CV shafts are also extended. In combination, these modifications deliver 318 mm of total ground clearance, compared to the factory Raptor’s 283 mm.
The cost of upgrading your standard Ranger to an APG pseudo-Raptor is R260000. If you are a skilled mechanic with an assortment of tools at home, APG’s will supply you all the parts for R190000, and you can spend weekend-upon-weekend, assembling it all, yourself.
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