This isn’t your standard pickup truck.
This year’s South African Rally-Raid Championship Ford Ranger isn’t your typical truck. The truck, manufactured and engineered by Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) for the NWM Ford Castrol Team, looks like a current-generation Ranger on the outside, but it’s been modified to handle the SARRC’s rigours.
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The first race will take place on March 25, and the Ranger NWM Ford is sending should be more than capable of handling the task. The team won two races and finished second overall last year, and the truck changes should strengthen the team’s chances this year. The new pickup retains the previous truck’s butterfly doors, which are a trademarked characteristic of NMW, and uses high-tech carbon-fiber and aramid weave for the cabin and body. (simonsezit.com)
The vehicle is 300 millimetres wider than the competition, with 37-inch tyres wrapped around 17-inch wheels hidden beneath severely flared wheel arches. Because of the larger wheels, the brake discs have grown from 12.9 in. (328 mm) to 13.9 in (355 mm). Although both the front and rear brakes are air-cooled, NWM water-cools the rear brakes to further prevent brake fade.
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The truck’s suspension is also changed, with a single-damper configuration replacing the dual-damper setup. New higher and lower control arms, as well as a larger drive shaft, are added to the pickup, allowing for more wheel travel. It rises from 11.0 inches (280 mm) to 13.7 inches (400 mm) (350 mm).
This year’s race corresponds with new regulations that the team had to prepare for, including as a reduction in the number of spare tyres allowed from three to two. “Once the T1+ rules were approved, we started revamping our Ranger and the numerous new components necessary around the middle of last year,” explained team principal Neil Woolridge.
Ford’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine delivers the same 402 horsepower (300 kilowatts) and 442 pound-feet (600 Newton-meters) of torque as last year’s truck. It has a top speed of 105 miles per hour, which is electronically regulated (170 kilometres per hour).
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