It’s no RS, ST or Raptor but Ford’s new Ranger MS-RT Champion Edition has the looks to suggest high performance, if not the performance itself. 

MS-RT is a tuning firm that has a long-standing partnership with the Blue Oval and it’s brought the latest version of the Ford Ranger MS-RT pick-up truck to the Paris Motor Show - “combining motorsport-inspired styling with luxurious features and Ranger’s proven capability”.

While the MS-RT version of the popular Ranger pick-up truck adds several performance-inspired visual tweaks, the Champion Edition goes a couple of steps further. Set against the black paint, there’s new gold stripes down the bonnet and sides, plus gold accents on the wing mirrors. The MS-RT’s 21-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels are finished in gold, too.

As with the regular MS-RT, there’s a special honeycomb grille, a built-in splitter on the front bumper, a lip spoiler on the tailgate and a faux diffuser on the rear bumper. 

Inside the Champion Edition you get gold stitching on the heated sports steering wheel, MS-RT leather sport seats with more gold stitching, gold floor mats and a special plaque on the centre console.

Like in the standard MS-RT, there’s a wider track, larger tyres, a 40mm reduced ride height and firmer front dampers, plus retuned rear suspension. Powertrain options for the Champion Edition are unchanged. That means there’s a plug-in hybrid 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine capable of providing 277bhp and 697Nm of torque. That’s enough for a nine-second 0-62mph time, plus an EV range of around 26 miles. There’s also a 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbocharged diesel putting out 237bhp and 600Nm of torque. This model’s lighter kerbweight helps shave the sprint time down to 8.7 seconds. 

At just over £52,000 excluding VAT, the existing Ranger MS-RT is £6,000 more than the Wildtrak on which it’s based. We don’t have pricing for the Champion Edition just yet but it’ll probably command a premium over the standard MS-RT.

The Ford Ranger’s long-time rival, the Toyota Hilux, was launched in an all-new generation this year. It’s already on sale through the Auto Express Buy A Car service with an average saving of over £1,500, but we’re still waiting on the new GR Sport version to truly go up against Ford’s Ranger MS-RT offering.