LOCAL THUNDER

If the United States can have Lightning, Europe can have Thunder. That was probably the thinking when Ford United Kingdom, taking its cue from the United States-built Ford F150 Lightning, introduced the special edition Ranger Thunder back in 2003. Now the third generation Thunder has struck and is also set to storm into South Africa.

Derived from the highly popular Ranger Wildtrak series, the limited-edition Thunder, already released in select European markets, is built and sourced from the Ford Silverton plant in South Africa. Its local introduction was thus to be expected, as it nicely fills the gap between the Wildtrak and the Raptor.

However, the Thunder nameplate has no previous history locally, and it is unclear why Ford decided to stick with this designation and not use the locally known FX4, or Montana, as used before. In total 1 400 examples are earmarked for the United Kingdom and 30 for Ireland, but Ford has not yet announced how many will be built for South Africa.

The Thunder, powered by a bi-turbo twolitre diesel engine with 157 kw and 500 Nm of torque, coupled to a 10-speed auto gearbox, is offered in a single specification. Finished in Sea Grey with bold red grille and roll bar highlights, complemented by threedimensional-effect Thunder badges for the driver and front passenger doors and tailgate, the Ranger logo is finished in matte black.

It also gains exclusive 18-inch black alloy wheels, a black front grille, rear bumper, skid plates, fog light surrounds, and door handles. LED headlights with darkened bezels and darkened taillight bezels are also standard. Inside, its leather seats have distinctive red embroidery and matching stitching across the steering wheel, seats, instrument panel, and key touch points. It seems the Thunder will be offered in both 4×2 and 4×4 form in South Africa.