One of Ford’s Coolest Sport Trucks Is Packed with Rally Pedigree

Spoiler alert: the Blue Oval has given this special Ranger pickup not just one, but two rear wings.

Ford

Published 5 hours ago

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While Ford builds most of its performance pickups for rowdy off-roading (think Raptor), that’s not to say that the Blue Oval is without its street trucks.

After all, between the Maverick Lobo and the F-150 Lobo, Ford fields a few offerings for those who want pickup practicality with an added dose of sporting appeal.

Blue Ford electric pickup truck with a roof-mounted cargo box, parked in front of a stone wall and garage door, connected to a green charging cable. — Ford’s Ranger MS-RT PHEV might be a sport truck, but it still packs pickup practicality and plug-in convenience.

Interestingly enough, however, one of the automaker’s coolest performance trucks is to be found overseas. It’s called the Ranger MS-RT, and it just got treated to a torquey new PHEV variant.

Rally-bred style

The truck in question is the result of a collaboration with the specialists at M-Sport Road Technology, an offshoot of Ford’s rally racing partner M-Sport.

Close-up of a blue car's front grille featuring a black honeycomb pattern and an "MS-RT" badge in blue and white. The grille is bordered by black trim, and part of the car's headlight and emblem are visible. — MS-RT brings significant rally and on-road motorsport expertise to this Ranger PHEV collab.

With experience engineering and building the Blue Oval’s Puma WRC car, Global Rallycross rigs and GT3 racers, the team brings some serious motorsport expertise to the table.

As such, even though the Ranger MS-RT PHEV is mostly a styling package, it nevertheless makes for a sweet pickup truck.

For instance, at the front, MS-RT added a new honeycomb grille with an integrated splitter. Meanwhile, around the sides, the Ranger PHEV now wears a set of sculpted side skirts and some flared wheel arches that add an extra 3.23 inches to the overall width.

A blue Ford pickup truck is towing a flatbed trailer carrying a colorful off-road racing vehicle with prominent "Ford" branding. The scene is set on a paved road with green grass in the foreground and trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky. — With over 500 lb-ft of torque on tap, the Ranger PHEV has more than enough grunt to tow.

It’s the rear, however, that’s easily the most distinctive. Along with a unique bumper and an integrated diffuser, it also sports a slick ducktail spoiler atop the tailgate and a secondary wing on the roof.

One for the road

Even though the above changes are mostly cosmetic in nature, they do bring some notable enhancements to the truck’s performance.

Blue electric pickup truck being charged, showing the charging port with a green charging cable plugged in near the rear wheel. The truck has a silver bed cover. — This performance PHEV proves that hybrid trucks can be fun, too.

As part of the Ranger MSR-RT’s lowered stance, it rides on a bespoke suspension setup with revised dampers and a 1.57-inch wider track. Together, such tweaks make for a truck that’s not only more precise but also grippier in its handling.

Similarly, according to Ford, the spoilers at the rear of the pickup have been optimized through computer simulations to “enhance overall aerodynamic balance.” While there’s no mention of downforce, they should at least provide for a bit more stability.

Rolling on a set of 21-inch wheels wrapped in low-profile street tires, the Ranger might not boast any powertrain upgrades, but that’s because it doesn’t need them.

It’s still a truck, but this four-wheel-drive Ranger is bound to handle like it’s on rails compared to other pickups.

Ford

After all, thanks to its 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine and 75 kW e-motor, the Ranger PHEV puts down a healthy 277 horsepower and 514 lb-ft of torque.

Given that power is driven to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic and an e4WD full-time four-wheel drive system, it’s a tire shredder from the factory.

European exclusive

As was the case with Ford’s other Ranger MS-RT pickup truck, the PHEV is only slated for Europe.

At this stage, the Blue Oval hasn’t shared pricing details, but you can head to Ford’s website for more info. It’ll be available for order soon, and it’s expected that customers will begin taking delivery come 2026.

Bright blue Ford pickup truck with black accents, black wheels, and tinted windows, parked on a concrete surface in front of a modern industrial building with dark gray paneling.

Ford Ranger MS-RT PHEV

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About the Author: Gray is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, motorcycles and anything else with wheels. When he’s not chasing the latest industry news, he’s probably wrenching on one of many projects. For better or worse, he believes classics make perfectly practical daily drivers.