Euro-spec 2011 Ford Ranger truck unveiled

It has been years, YEARS, that we in Europe asked FoMoCo to bring here some of their gorgeous Ford F-150 half-ton pickup trucks. Now we have a light-duty eye stopper of our own in the form of the 2011 Ford Ranger!

The 2011 Ford Ranger is FoMoCo’s first global pickup truck, which is developed by Ford Australia and Mazda and is destined to reach 180 markets all over the world. The only exception is the United States of America, where the new vehicle could seriously harm dominating position of the aforementioned F-150.

According to the company, the 2011 Ford Ranger will be delivered both as RWD 4×2 and 4×4 vehicles with three cab choices and two ride heights. The long list of goodies includes a Rearview Camera System, Rear Park Assist, Trailer Sway Control and Adaptive Load Control.

Some versions of the truck will be sold with optional 6R80 six-speed automatic transmission, which is claimed to be very smooth and provides the owner of the truck with car-like driving experience.

Among available powertrains is mentioned the 3.2-liter five-cylinder Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel engine, which currently installed in the Ford Transit series of commercial vans. Churning out healthy 200 horsepower and 470 Nm of torque, the engine will be probably coupled to a 6-speed MT86 manual transmission. Together, they will be able to provide the truck with a maximum of 1500 of payload and exceptional towing capacity.

For those more interested in fuel economy, there will be two more engines: a 2.2L inline-four TDCi oil burner (147 hp / 375 Nm) and a 2.5L Duratec inline-four flex-fuel engine, which is mated to a standard MT75 five-speed manual gearbox and produces up to 163 hp and can run either on normal gasoline or E100 ethanol. The manufacturer also promises that the engine may also be adapted to work on either CNG or LPG for even greater economy (but even poorer performance.)

No info on pricing yet.

Photos: Ford

See also: 2008 Ford Ranger WildTrak Le Mans (UK)