Ford Reveals Kris Kringle Collaboration

Ford today revealed concept sketches for its one-off Ranger Raptor North Edition, which it expects to put into production sometime never. 

Sketches for Ford’s one-off Ranger Raptor North Edition.

The result of a collaboration between Ford Design in Australia and Kris Kringle, the world’s best-known gift-giver, the development of the bespoke pickup truck has been led by a team based in Australia with involvement from across the Ford world.

“The sleigh and reindeer are my brand and will always be part of my work life,” said Kringle. “But I was looking for something that could be used on the other 364 days of the year, or at Christmas if necessary. I guess you could say I was looking for my everyday sleigh.” 

Ranger Raptor North Edition features a Gingerbread crumb SYNC infotainment system.

Boasting new features like heated hot chocolate holders, an infinity load box, and tailgate barbecue, the Ranger Raptor was selected, said Kringle, because it provided the all-terrain capability and creature comforts required for work and play.

The task of imagining the Ranger Raptor North Edition was led by Ford Australia designer Kirby Masterman and involved a global team of experts, including researchers at Ford’s Experimental Laboratory Foundation (ELF).

With only a 10-week window to go from brief to presentation, “the process was intense,” said Masterman. “Luckily, I had great support from the team here in Australia, the ELF team in the U.S., and my colleagues at our North Pole studio. I’m so glad I was asked to get involved in this project.” 

The Ford Ranger Raptor North Edition features a modified Levacar Mach 1 system for jump lift, aided by Mistletoe rockets. Retractable wings provide stability in flight.

While the intention was for the Ranger Raptor North Edition to be his everyday sleigh for running to the shops or heading off-road on the weekend, flight capability was important to Kringle.

“We started with the compressed air system in the 1958 Levacar Mach 1 concept,” said ELF’s chief impossible projects officer Dr. Chad McBoffin. “Originally only designed to provide a centimeter or two of lift, we needed to redevelop the system to provide enough lift to reach 60,000 feet, which is above controlled airspace.”

Ensuring the re-engineered system could provide the required lift was one thing but generating enough thrust to travel close to the speed of light saw the team invent a new micro-sized rocket engine, which is powered entirely by candy canes.

“Kringle will now have the capability to drive down to his favorite fishing spot or streak across the sky at 4,705,822 km/h (2,924,062 mph),” said McBoffin. “I’d say we’ve nailed the brief of developing a truly everyday sleigh.”

Key features of the everyday sleigh:

• Roof access: Kringle is not a fan of doors, preferring to use chimneys to access buildings, so the Ford Design team sealed up Ranger Raptor’s four doors and installed a roof port positioned over the driver’s seat.
• Heated hot chocolate holders: Ranger Raptor’s existing cup holders were redesigned with a special no-burn heating element incorporated to maintain the perfect hot chocolate temperature of 58 degrees C.
• Integrated tailgate barbecue: Enhancing the functionality of the Ranger Raptor’s tailgate, the team integrated a full-width, self-cleaning barbecue hot plate for use when Kringle is relaxing at his holiday home in Bonnie Doon.
• Infinity load box: Designed to allow Kringle to store enough presents for more than 800 million children, it features a safe return system to ensure anyone who falls in can get out easily. A powered cover allows the load box to be used conventionally outside of delivery use. 

Kris Kringle checks out the tailgate of the never-to-be-released Ranger Raptor North Edition.

• Gingerbread crumb SYNC infotainment: A never-to-be-released version of Ford’s latest-generation SYNC 4A system, the artificial intelligence-enhanced technology provides secure list management, advanced navigation, and weather monitoring.
• Enhanced F-O-R-D grille: To ensure occupant protection when traveling at 4,705,822 km/h (2,924,062 mph), Ford has used the same Unobtanium used in Kringle’s workday sleigh in the front end of the Ranger Raptor North Edition, which provides heat and friction resistance to ensure the vehicle and occupants are not vaporized when traveling at 99 percent the speed of light.
• Flight system: Ford has reimagined its Levacar Mach 1 levitation system to provide jump lift capability to the Ranger Raptor North Edition while Mistletoe-class rockets provide thrusts. Retractable wings ensure stability and control during high-speed flight.

“From all of us at Ford Motor Company, we’d like to wish each of you happy holidays and big thanks to Kris for trusting us with this project; I’m sure we’ll be cleaning mince pie crumbs out of Kirby’s computer for months,” said Max Wolff, design director, China, and International Markets Group.