It’s time to celebrate the return of a classic Ford Ranger model. It’s going to ride in on some major waves! We apologize. It’s hard to resist nautical puns when the Ford Ranger Splash is returning to port. 

The Ford Ranger Splash swims back into production 

Perhaps you’ve never heard of the Ford Ranger Splash, but it indeed used to be a thing. Splash is a word that seems to work better with boats instead of trucks, but this was a special version of the truck in the 1990s, so we’ll give this odd name a pass. 

Anyways, let’s dive in. Ford recently filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the Splash name. This doesn’t exactly mean that Ford has immediate plans to use the name on a production vehicle, but it does mean some unique ideas might be floating around. 

Members of a Ford Maverick Forum noted that the application covers motor vehicles, namely, automobiles, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, off-road vehicles, electric vehicles, and their structural parts. 

It also covers vehicle equipment packages consisting of wheels, seas, and exterior body parts. This might be vague, but it may suggest that the Splash will be an optional Ford Ranger package. 

What was the original Ranger Splash? 

The first Ford Ranger Splash emerged in 1993 as a successful attempt to keep up with the industry trend for sporty trucks. The Slash came with a flareside bed that was reminiscent of the way cargo boxes were styled in the 1950s. 

Meaning the rear wheels were outside the bed, under protruding flared wheel wells. It also included Splash exterior graphics, body-color painted bumpers, and aluminum wheels. By 1999, the Splash Ranger XLT featured a four-pin trailer towing harness for electrical hookups and interior grab handles. 

The Splash had a lowered suspension too. It was lowered by one inch in the rear, and two-wheel drive versions were lowered by two inches in the front. But they still featured 4×4 Ranger grilles. Rear-wheel drive models rode on steel wheels, and four-wheel drive models received steelies. 

Will there be a 2022 Ranger Splash? 

We know that the 2022 Ford Ranger is receiving some significant changes, but we aren’t sure what’s in store for the Ford Ranger Splash. It could be a sporty truck for racing like the older Ford F-150 Lightning. 

If the Ranger gains an electric powertrain, it’s unclear if it’ll be called the Ranger Lightning or something else. On that note, classic vehicle names can become different things. The Ford Maverick was a muscle car. Now it’s a compact truck. This just adds to the mystery. What if a Ford Maverick Splash arrives instead of a Ranger Splash? 

Let’s switch gears to what we do know. The Ford Ranger is being redesigned for 2022, and it will ride on the same platform as the Bronco. It could share the two powertrain options too. The 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine has 270 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. Upgrade to the 2.7-liter V6 engine for 310 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. 

Also, spy shots have shown a single cab variant, and a hard-core off-roading version such as the Ranger Tremor and Ranger Raptor might be on the way. We would like to see a sporty version return to the streets, and we’ll keep an eye out for updates.