You can buy a Ford Ranger Raptor in the United States. It starts around $57,000, which gets you an upgraded suspension with Fox shocks and a twin-turbocharged V-6 making 405 horsepower. It's a neat truck, but V-8 swapping Ford Rangers is an American pastime. Turns out, it's an Australian pastime, too.
This isn't just a V-8-swapped Ranger, though. A company called Killa Conversions & Performance essentially built their own Ranger Raptor R with a supercharged V-8 under the hood. It's called the Raptr8 S, and it uses a third-generation 5.0-liter Coyote engine crowned with a Roush supercharger, among other things. The result is 750 hp—30 more than you get in the American F-150 Raptor R with its Predator-derived 5.2-liter engine.
The Australian tuning company shared the news on social media with a cool video and a brief announcement. We don't know what kind of upgrades are included, but we assume it's close (if not identical) to the current Raptr8 listed on their website. That truck only has 460 hp courtesy of its naturally aspirated Coyote V-8 swap. Since it's based on a normal Ranger Raptor, the long-travel suspension is left untouched. Brakes are also stock, though upgrades are available. The company does add a beefed-up 10-speed automatic transmission for both the Raptr8 and the new Raptr8 S.
Stuffing a supercharged V-8 under the hood isn't cheap. The conversion alone costs $89,000 in Australian currency, which equals about $57,000 US greenbacks. However, The Drive points out that other high-performance trucks like the F-150 Raptor R—which isn't officially sold in Australia but can be imported—sell for much higher prices.
With the price of a Ranger Raptor and the Killa Conversions & Performance upgrades combined, the cost comes in around $122,000 USD. That's expensive, but it's about $110,000 USD less than the cost of an imported F-150 Raptor R. And that much power in a Ranger feels like a small price to pay.
Source: Killa Conversions & Performance via The Drive
