Who needs a Baby Raptor when you have this?
A guy modified his Ford Ranger with 35-inch tires, other trail-ready mods, and some JDM-inspired aesthetics for a mini-Raptor vibe. Captured by Larry Chen from Hoonigan AutoFocus, this might be better than the upcoming Ford Ranger Raptor. He caught up with the build at Kind of the Hammers at Dry Lake in California, so in the video you get to see it in action.
Check out this custom 1979 Ford F-150 Raptor here.
Built by Daniel Cohen, he grabbed a Ranger because Toyota Tacomas were a little too popular. He also gets a kick out of the 4-banger turbocharged engine, something we’re not such a fan of, so it’s great he is.
Maybe the turbo-4 inspired Cohen, or maybe it’s because the guy’s been into Japanese cars for a while, but he decided to add some subtle JDM flair to the truck. You don’t typically see things like ADVAN wheels, carbon-fiber flared fenders, etc. on pickup trucks.
This is a pretty serious build. Not only did they throw 35-inch tires on and modify the chassis to accommodate those, this Ranger wears full skid plates nose to tail, plus the engine has been tuned for more power. It looks like a blast to take out in the wild, plus Cohen says it’s reliable enough to be a daily driver.
There are a few reasons to be excited about this build. For starters, not everyone likes driving a full-size pickup truck. We can argue all day long about what that means, but that’s their preference and since the Raptor is wider than a regular F-150, it might seem like a little too much truck. In that vein, the Raptor isn’t so great for more technical trails. We’re not sure if this build is, either, but it will fit in narrower passes and should have a better breakover angle.
Finally, there’s cost. Ford Raptors are cool but they’re also expensive. Rangers cost far less. And while the mods do add to the overall cost, we seriously doubt this comes anywhere near what a new Raptor goes for.
Check out the video to get the full rundown on this build.
