In an interview with Australia's drive.com.au, Jamal Hameedi said that the reception given to the original F-150 Raptor backed-up by the Ranger Raptor shown in Thailand earlier this month went well beyond expectations, and that "no reason (we wouldn’t do an Everest Raptor)" exists.

"To do an SUV is a little more difficult because you have to figure out how to deal with the rear suspension. In the form of a bodyside outer it’s not just a box outer [and that] poses a unique challenge in how you package that," Hameedi said.

At the same time, Ford Australia Product Communications Manager, Damion Smy, told the online publication that an Everest Raptor "makes sense" in light of the ongoing decline in passenger car sales and rise in popularity of SUVs.

"Long-term it would make sense if you look at the fact that passenger vehicles were overtaken by SUVs (in 2017). There’s definitely a case for more performance oriented or at least more sports styled SUVs in the future," he said.

If indeed given the green light, power for the Everest Raptor will most likely come from the same 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged diesel engine as the Ranger, which produces 157 kW and 500 Nm of torque, fed to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic gearbox co-developed with General Motors.

What remains unknown though is how the Everest Raptor would stand in relation to the petrol-powered Edge ST as well as the revived Bronco, which will share the same T6 platform and arrive in 2020.

From a South African standpoint, the Everest Raptor could prove to be a further boost as production of the standard model already takes place alongside the Ranger at Ford's Silverton Plant near Pretoria, where assembly of the Ranger Raptor will also commence from 2019.