ford is still hard at work on a production version of its wild Mustang-powered Raptor off-road racer, which, company boss Jim Farley told media in Melbourne, will “break all the rules”.
Speaking to media at the 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Mr Farley hinted at a showroom version of the vehicle set to lead the company’s performance future – timing and further details are still to be announced.
“I don’t want to go into it too much other than to say that Kumar (Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer) and the team really understand that the invisible line between off-road and on-road supercars is blurring,” he told the media Daily Sparkz.
“And with partially electric powertrains and digitally controlled damping – and torque vectoring technology – you can now imagine a digitally equipped super vehicle that is equally capable off-road and on-road.”
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“What the silhouette looks like and all the details, we will continue to look at it, but if there is a company in the world that breaks the rules and does something like this, then I think it should be Ford.”
The Ford boss had previously mentioned the possibility of such a vehicle as part of plans to create a Raptor sub-brand and position Ford as the “Porsche of the off-road vehicle”.
Mr Farley also ruled out a return of enthusiast models such as the Fiesta ST, Focus ST and Focus RS hot hat models as the company looks forward and “doesn’t want to copy the past”.
“In the advanced world of technology and enthusiasts, I don’t believe customers have to make such a difficult decision between off-road fun and on-road fun,” Mr. Farley said.
“So if we were to do something like that, I would insist that the team come up with a new formula that you may not have seen before.”
The company’s specially built racing vehicles could form the basis for exactly this.
The wild Raptor T1+ took pride of place on the Ford stand at the Grand Prix, still covered in mud and dust from racing, as the company returned to Formula 1 in 2026 with the Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls teams.
The off-road racer was developed from the ground up for long-distance rallies – so-called “rally raids” – by the British company M-Sport, Ford’s long-standing partner in the World Rally Championship.
It uses a dry-sump version of Ford’s 5.0-litre Coyote V8 engine – also used in competition Mustangs, including the Australian Supercars’ 5.4-litre V8 – and a six-speed sequential gearbox.
Its wild body is made from lightweight carbon fiber panels over a steel space frame to save weight but remain extremely stable off-road.
The sophisticated chassis features independent front and rear double wishbone suspensions and adjustable coilovers, allowing for a significant 350mm of wheel travel, a 70-degree approach angle and 400mm of ground clearance.
Ford only has one Raptor model in Australian showrooms, although Raptor versions of the F-150 and Bronco are available overseas.
The current Ranger Raptor V6 is an extremely capable off-roader with “long-travel suspension”, a departure angle of 32 degrees and a ground clearance of 272 mm.
MORE: Explore the Ford showroom
