The head of Ford Performance has confirmed his division will offer a range of factory-approved accessories for the Ranger bakkie.

The new comes after the Ranger prepares to return to the North American market at the start of 2019 after a hiatus of some eight years. According to Drive, US suppliers are expected to play a leading role in the development of these new parts.

Ford in the US says more than 150 performance parts and accessories will be available when the bakkie launches in that market in early 2019. Indeed, the brand displayed as many as eight Ranger concepts at SEMA 2018, each showing off a raft of accessories.

The Australian publication reports that Hermann Salenbauch, the global head of Ford Performance, said accessorising “really is a thing people love”.

“We want to take part in it,” he said. “We want to do that globally. This is not like when we do it here . We want to do it everywhere.”

Drive suggests Ford Performance accessories for the Ranger will include reworked bodywork, camping-style folding covers and “drastically modified” suspension.

The US-spec Ranger will be powered by a 2,3-litre EcoBoost petrol engine (worth 201 kW and 420 N.m) mated to a ten-speed automatic transmission.

In South Africa, of course, the locally built Ranger is offered solely in turbodiesel guise, with the current 2,2-litre four-cylinder and 3,2-litre five-pot set to be joined by a new twin-turbo 2,0-litre (as debuted by the Ranger Raptor) in 2019.

Original article from Car