Ford could be working on an off-road-focused version of the new Everest four-wheel-drive – with a familiar look – if new patent images are any guide.
An off-road-oriented 2023 Ford Everest Wildtrak four-wheel-drive wagon could be on the way, if newly filed patent images are any guide – but a hardcore Ford Everest Raptor reportedly remains a step too far.
Filed by Ford with Australian intellectual property officials, the images show a new Ford Everest fitted with the Ranger Wildtrak ute’s unique front fascia, distinguished by its X-shaped vertical bars, usually finished in black.
With a new set of 19- or 20-inch alloy wheels not seen on any current Ranger or Everest model, the patent images point to a new off-road-oriented version of Ford’s seven-seat 4WD, which could wear the Wildtrak name as well as some of its looks.
The presence of 360-degree camera modules on the undersides of the mirrors hints the model would be positioned high up the range, as an alternative to (or just below) the flagship Platinum.
Ford Australia would not comment on the patents, telling Drive in a statement: “Ford submits design applications for various brand assets as a normal course of business, but they aren’t necessarily an indication of new branding, badging, or product plans.”
However, Ford executives have previously opened the door to a more off-road-capable Everest – filling an opening in the range, which currently skews towards on-road luxury at the higher end of the line-up.
“We can do anything, but we need to see if there is a business case and demand for such a vehicle,” Ian Foston, Ranger and Everest chief platform engineer, said earlier this year when asked about a diesel-powered, hardcore off-road version of the Everest.
“We have said before, the commonality or the level of shared components in the engineering that we’ve done on the (Ranger/Everest) T6 platform gives us the ability to flex as we go.
“I’m not going to say anything about what we’re going to do in the future … but we will keep listening to customers, and we will keep thinking about what it is they want, and we will see what we can do.”
However, an Everest Raptor has for now been ruled out, due to only modest interest from customers compared to the substantial investment required to develop such a vehicle.
A Ford Everest Raptor (imagined above) would require wider bodywork to house its wider wheel tracks – but while the Ranger Raptor’s front arches would fit, the Everest would require costly changes to its rear doors, as well as the side stamping spanning the front pillar to the tailgate.
While the wider shoulders of the new Ranger and Everest has closed the gap in wheel track width to the Raptor, new bodywork may still be required for the looks – and dynamics – incurred with the Raptor badge.
“We have the same challenges today as we did with the current-generation Ranger Raptor and Everest,” Foston told Drive.
“If we wanted to do an Everest Raptor, we’d need to go away and understand if that’s what customers really wanted. As enthusiasts we like the idea of such a vehicle, but the market to sell an Everest Raptor in sufficient numbers might not be there.
“Then we’ve got to understand the investment of where we’re taking this, to make an Everest into a Raptor So unless all those things line up … then [an Everest Raptor] is not something we’re currently going to be doing.”
Unlike the Everest, the rear doors of Ford’s other Raptor models – the Ranger ute, larger F-150 pick-up and US-market Bronco SUV – end well before or at the rear wheels, so new stampings aren’t required – and the panels that have been swapped are smaller than those on the Everest.
Would you be interested in a Ford Everest Wildtrak? Let us know in the comments below.
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