We’ve gone astray by trying to make everything into an off-road car. The famous Porsche 911 was turned into the dirt-shooting Dakar. Instead of the Urus SUV, Lamborghini is ready to get dirty with the 602-hp Huracán Sterrato. Even the high-end Toyota Sienna Woodland Edition minivan has found a new way to make kids throw up chicken nuggets. Ford is now following the crowd. Everything at Ford’s workplace in Dearborn is turned into a rap song. The F-150 was the first desert car, so it was the one that started the idea. The next clear choice was the Bronco Raptor. It makes sense that this attitude will be carried over into the next Ranger Raptor. It makes sense to treat the Explorer and the Expedition the same way. But turning the Mustang into a car that can go off-road sounds like a big task. But is that true? We should have seen this coming years ago when we first saw the sixth-generation Mustang’s splined front hubs. All-wheel drive cars could speed up quickly and not turn the countryside into race courses. Even though almost any Ford engine will fit in the Mustang’s engine bay, the Raptor will have the 5.0-liter V-8 with more than 500 horsepower, which Bronco fans have been asking for. There’s no choice for a manual transmission. Also, only count on a transfer case with two speeds. To maximize the limited room in the drive tunnel, a 10-speed automatic will use an electronically controlled center differential to send torque to all four wheels. Later, there will be a Mustang Raptor R with a 5.2-liter V-8 blower that makes more than 700 horsepower because why not? In honor of the Raptor’s history, Fox Live Valve dampers will soften landings when it’s time to go all Bo and Luke Duke. Custom suspension parts and long springs will give the Mustang a 2-inch lift, and many underbody bash plates will protect the Mustang’s most essential components from damage. The strengthened fenders can hold all-terrain tires. The Raptor vehicle is expected to be ready in 2026, after the release of the seventh-generation Mustang later this fall and the other street-oriented performance models. Like all Raptors, it won’t be cheap, but much more affordable than a lifted Lamborghini. The limited number of off-road Mustangs and mud flaps should cost around $90,000. Long before Ford thought about making an off-road Mustang, C/D tested a horse-member Mustang against a Fox-body Mustang GT roadster on a dirt track in February 1992. Tang finished the quarter at 25 mph in 34.3 seconds, while the Mustang GT did it in 17.0 seconds. Based on the price at which it was tried, the horse won.
