Ford is driving its new Ranger Raptor pickup around on U.S. streets, teasing us with a truck that we aren’t even sure will be sold here. 

The truck seen in these spy photos is right-hand drive and our photographer claims that it sounded like a diesel engine under the hood. In other markets, the Ranger Raptor is sold with a twin-turbo diesel engine that makes 211 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, mated to a ten-speed automatic.

So this appears to be a global version of the truck, save for the new graphics package which hasn’t been seen before. But just seeing it testing on U.S. soil should be promising to Ford fans as it’s yet another sign that this small off-road pickup will be sold in North America.

And it’s not the only sign that Ford will sell the Ranger Raptor here. First of all, it has the perfect competitive matchup with the Chevy Colorado ZR2 and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro which must be tempting Ford. Then there are the teasers. Ford likely revealed its intentions in April 2018 by releasing a set of Ranger photos filled with dinosaur-themed Easter Eggs. Was Ford hinting at the Raptor? Only time will tell.

The standard U.S.-spec Ranger will use a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to a ten-speed automatic, making around 300 hp. If the Ranger Raptor does come to the U.S., it could use a more powerful version of this engine, though we expect Ford would use the 2.7-liter turbocharged V6. A diesel engine option for the U.S. is possible as well.

We will probably see the production version of the U.S.-spec Ranger Raptor before the end of 2018.

a version of this article first appeared on off-road.com

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