In November, spy photographers caught a camouflaged prototype of the Ford Maverick with the FX4 package and a few notable changes like a black grille and a cutout in the center of the front bumper. Ford Authority suspected the mystery model could be the off-road-focused Maverick that the outlet had earlier reported Ford to be working on. Meanwhile, CarBuzz has found a trademark application Ford filed in Chile on October 12 for the name Maverick Tremor. It’s possible the camouflaged Maverick has nothing to do with a Maverick Tremor eventually showing up on dealer lots; as FA noted, the prototype could be a Timberline model, or it could use the Rattler name the automaker trademarked earlier this year.
It does seem likely that Ford’s got more a more hardcore off-road model heading for the Maverick lineup, and it’s possible filing in Chile was an attempt to hide from Internet sleuths. Ford sells the Ranger, Ranger Raptor, F-150 and F-150 Raptor in Chile. However, Ford doesn’t sell the Ranger Tremor or F-150 Tremor there, and hasn’t announced the Maverick for that market yet.
At the moment, the sharpest edge a buyer can put on the Maverick is the $800 FX4 package. Only available on trims with all-wheel drive and the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, the FX4 group comes with bits like heavy duty cooling for that engine, monotube shocks, exposed front tow hooks, skid plates, a tow hitch receiver and four-pin connector, hill descent control and unique 17-inch wheels on all-terrain tires. The Tremor packages that can be optioned on the Ranger, F-150, and Super Duty go well beyond this. The Ranger Tremor gets Fox shocks all around with remote reservoirs in back, different front coilover and rear leaf springs, a bump in ground clearance to 9.7 inches thanks to that suspension and 33-inch all-terrain tires, stiffer anti-roll bar, locking diff, side steps, an auxiliary panel with six configurable switches, rear recovery hooks and new seats.
Seeing that the Maverick is the only Ford pickup that hasn’t joined the Tremor club yet, and the Maverick is built in the same Mexican plant with the Bronco Sport that that pickup shares a platform with, we’re ready to put money down that a gruff Maverick isn’t far away. Whether it will be called Rattler, Tremor, Timberline or something else is the question.
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