Last month Ford brought about a storm of speculation when they asked Canada’s intellectual property office to trademark the “Thunder” nameplate. According to Autoblog, it filed three separate applications for the Maverick Thunder, Ranger Thunder, and the F-150 Thunder, so we can be expecting to see a new trim at some point in the near future.
Ford “Thunder” Trademark: Details
The “Thunder” nameplate does nicely complement the Lightning, though we don’t think that’s what Ford is working on. Besides the name, it’s hard to say precisely what the Blue Oval has going on behind the curtains, though it will not likely be an electric vehicle, thankfully. The name Thunder isn’t associated with a Ford truck in the United States; however, it has already appeared on the Ranger in Europe. Released in 2020, the Wildtrak-based Ford Ranger Thunder was limited to 4,500 units and characterized by Sea Gray paint with contrasting red accents and 18-inch wheels. It was powered by a 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged diesel engine that made 213 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque.
Ford could be working on something similar here, an appearance package that will bring a distinct color scheme and a few edition-specific accents on the inside and out. We’ve seen that Ford has recently been giving customers more design-led trims and color combinations to choose from. With the reintroduction of the limited edition Ranger Splash trucks for 2022 and the 2023 F-150 getting a Heritage Edition model.
Ford hasn’t yet commented on the trademark filing and hasn’t announced any plans to release a Thunder-branded variant of the Maverick, Ranger, or F-150. But it’s entirely possible we will be seeing something of the sort later down the line unless they decide to trademark the nameplate and do absolutely nothing with it.
