Territory, Ranger crossover Frankenstein!

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by Jason[98.EL]

what gets me is the fact the ranger is available in right hand drive so why the need for it ( the test mule ) to be in left hand drive

I saw these cars driving around geelong about a week ago there were 4 of them though 2 white and 1 red and a blue one

As i said earlier, of the hundreds of countries this will be sold in, a fraction will be RHD. The whole T6 program is likely developed around LHD given priority, so getting those underpinnings sorted first is more important.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Has there been any talk of a release date or when they atleast plan to have these T6's on the road, '14 / '15 ?.

Late next year, early '15 is my bet.

[Bossxr8]

The brushes are there to stop people taking photos of the rear suspension setup, and prototype bodies haven't been built yet, hence the Terry rear end. Only chassis's have been built, so they have taken the chassis, added the Ranger front which is very close to what it will have and then just needed to tack a rear end on it, and just used what they had. I don't think the proto bodies will be ready till later in the year.

No IRS.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

No IRS.

Well - that's a shame. Considering some of the Territory guys are no doubt working on it, I would have thought some of the IRS expertise could have been utilised. I realise that IRS isnt necessarily "better" for off roading but the reality is most of these won't see much hardcore off road work.

[FPV GTHO]

It likely wouldve been a ground up design, which wouldve been expensive and time consuming. This project is late enough as it is.

Unless they dusted off the old Explorer IRS

[XR Martin]

I hope its atleast got coil sprung solid rear, and not leafs.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Well - that's a shame. Considering some of the Territory guys are no doubt working on it, I would have thought some of the IRS expertise could have been utilised. I realise that IRS isnt necessarily "better" for off roading but the reality is most of these won't see much hardcore off road work.

Prado and most of the others only use coils, and the current Everest is on leafs, as is the Toyota Fortuna.

Maybe why there are 2 rear suspension versions, coil and leaf. One as an upmarket SUV for taking on Prado, the other for taking on Fortuna in cheaper markets.

[galaxy xr8]

If this thing is to take on the Prado I hope they have studied the Prado and considered a bigger tank, like that of around 150 ish ltr.

[nstg8a]

What would be legalities side of Things if one of these was involved in an accident?
Do they get some sort of exemption for road testing?

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

If this thing is to take on the Prado I hope they have studied the Prado and considered a bigger tank, like that of around 150 ish ltr.

This times eleventy billion

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

What would be legalities side of Things if one of these was involved in an accident?
Do they get some sort of exemption for road testing?

Of course.

[mike_nofx]

I thought I spotted this thing today, from a distance I saw a Ford suv with a "Left Hand Drive" sticker on the rear. When I eventually got up near it, it was a Ford Explorer Limited.
Had a window mounted video camera.

Is this a model avaliable in Australia? or soon to be avaliable? or just testing the car in australian conditions? or maybe just a private owner who imported a LHD model?

[FERG_51]

These rangers with terry backs were spotted in Beachport S.A a couple of weeks ago, two white ones.

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

I thought I spotted this thing today, from a distance I saw a Ford suv with a "Left Hand Drive" sticker on the rear. When I eventually got up near it, it was a Ford Explorer Limited.
Had a window mounted video camera.

Is this a model avaliable in Australia? or soon to be avaliable? or just testing the car in australian conditions? or maybe just a private owner who imported a LHD model?

Probably just from Fords RnD fleet. They've been known to also have Mustangs, Fusions, Taurus' and F150's.

[Bossxr8]

I parked next to this prototype at work today, it was sitting in the car park. Had a look inside and it was just the 2 front seats and the rest was just bare metal. There were a bunch of weights stacked up on the inside to simulate the weight distribution of what the production model will be, even an almost torso shaped weight in the front passenger seat.

This is so it simulates what the vehicle will behave like out on the road in a production form. It was full of test equipment inside too. Couldn't take pics as it was on company property and I don't think they would have taken kindly to it.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

It would be a chassis engineering vehicle. The body work on it would irrelevent, as they are just testing the suspension, braking, handling etc on real roads.
The full bodywork ones would only be floating around the Ford proving ground for the time being, away from prying eyes.

^^pretty much on the money.

Originally Posted by Jason[98.EL]

what gets me is the fact the ranger is available in right hand drive so why the need for it ( the test mule ) to be in left hand drive

Seeing its a new model, new features, different emissions, engines etc. There are going to be differences with the LHD & RHD models so all must be tested and crashed into a wall. Building a car isn't cheap no matter how may experts on here could do it for a fraction of the price.

[XR Martin]

Anyone know if they'll be a Mazda version?
Also what's the chance of an Ecoboost motor?

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Anyone know if they'll be a Mazda version?
Also what's the chance of an Ecoboost motor?

Seeing as the ecoboost motor is their worldwide motor it wouldn't surprise me if it came out with one.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Seeing as the ecoboost motor is their worldwide motor it wouldn't surprise me if it came out with one.

Be nice to see the 3.5L V6 Ecoboost in there...But I think the new 2.3L is more likely.

[imugli]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Anyone know if they'll be a Mazda version?

Mazda have apparently passed on it

http://www.caradvice.com.au/194272/m...ford-suv-twin/

[SSVPom]

Spotted today on Flinders Street

[Mr G8]

Nice cable ties there

[olds]

Trouble is this wont be built in Aus.

[Resurrection]

Originally Posted by Renegade

I just seen what looks to be a Ford Territory - Ranger Frankenstien but was left hand drive.

It had a Ranger front end, bonnet, front window (not sure about the dash as I've never sat in a Ranger) and front drivers door etc and from behind the drivers seat, Rear door backwards it was a Territory but the rear bumper wasn't fitting properly and the fuel filler had been moved.

To me it was riding a bit high to be running on Territory running gear so I would have to say that in general terms it was a Ranger with a Territory rear end (that's a guess though).

And yes, in between fumbling with a coffee we managed to get three pictures.

Not sure if anyone else has taken any photos of it so I'm unsure if they should have a FordForums watermark on them before I put them up??

Now, Back to my coffee!!

P375/U375 prototype based on T6 Ranger.

[olds]

In fact considering the territory is underpinning the current locally made product , This could be the proverbial nail .

[baboon]

Originally Posted by Mr G8

Nice cable ties there

Anything would be better then those nasty awful painful SCRIVETS!

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by SSVPom

image

Spotted today on Flinders Street

Didn't take long -

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/s...509-2ja81.html

[SSVPom]

I'm famous now !

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Interesting to see that the Territory is noticeably wider than the Ranger.

Something I keep pointing out to people, which allows 3 adults to sit comfortably in the 3rd row. or have 3 kids seats lined up.
it would be a shame if this was lost in the Everest as its a feature Territory has over ALL of its competitors.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by olds

Trouble is this wont be built in Aus.

Just what I thought when Territory was at the Bangkok Motor show