M-Sport, working in conjunction with NWM, revealed plans to take on one of the world's most gruelling rallies last year, which has resulted in an extensive development programme to prepare a Ford Ranger, initially conceived by South African firm NWM.
The plan is to create a Ranger T1+ available to be purchased by customers, with orders set to open next month. M-Sport and NWM will then combine with Ford Performance to develop an all-new Ranger for Ford's full factory tilt at the Dakar from 2025.
The 2024 Ranger has been tested in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to understand the development direction. In total, over 10,000 kilometres of development testing – equivalent to over two Dakar Rally distances have been completed.
The programme has resulted in the Ranger undergoing updates to the chassis to increase its strength and rigidity. Bespoke dampers developed by Reiger have now been fitted to the Ranger. The package has passed its homologation inspection and will now be fitted to the car.
"We studied the chassis carefully to find opportunities for structural improvements on stiffness and durability. These changes were made and validated through a rigorous test programme" said M-Sport technical director Chris Williams.
"To accelerate our development we wanted to go to Reiger for their Dakar experience. Collaboratively we created a new damper and wishbone set-up resulting in an improved motion ratio and making full use of Reiger's latest damper technology, designed specifically for rally raid.
"We've tested the new set-up in Fontjoncouse, and twice in Morocco, with significant improvements in performance.
Source: Autosport