Ford responded to an internet troll with a strong statement against homophobia, creating a rainbow and glittery gold-wrapped truck that paraded the streets of Cologne, Germany to celebrate Pride Day.
“Very gay” is how one internet denizen described the new Ranger Raptor Special Edition pickup in a comment on a Ford Europe social media post. The company noticed and, in response, took the concept of a very gay Ranger Raptor and ran with it. According to Ford, the commenter wrote in response to the reveal, “Well… that’s a cool car! -But that blue color is very Gay!! Hey Ford! Paint in BlackNGold or camo!”
The commenter sparked a comeback from Ford. On June 25, the company tweeted an animation of the Raptor in its rainbow livery in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
‘Very Gay’ was a compliment, right? ✨? #VeryGayRaptor pic.twitter.com/vOYJfwHANH
— Ford Europe (@FordEu)
June 25, 2021
But then Ford went one step further and actually built a Ranger Raptor in said livery. Ford took the “black and gold” recommendation literally, wrapping the truck in the glitziest gold one can imagine. Over the gold, a rainbow swirls around the truck, ending with a pink heart on the tailgate.
What Ford has dubbed the Very Gay Raptor made its debut at the Christopher Street Day parade, a LGBTQ+ celebration in Cologne. Incidentally, this isn’t the first time Ford has participated at the event with a rainbow-themed vehicle. In 1997 Ford created a Ka Pickup prototype out of the Ka compact hatch. The concept never made it to production, but it was later repainted in rainbow colors by Ford’s internal GLOBE (Gay, Lesbian Or Bi-Sexual Employees) group for use in Christopher Street Day celebrations for many years.
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