Produced between 1979 and 1986 for model years 1980 through 1986, the Ford Bronco's third generation came with a choice of 300 to 351 cubes in six- or eight-cylinder guises. The 5.8-liter Windsor makes in the ballpark of 210 horsepower, a respectable number given the 351's archaic design and the emission regulations from the early '80s.
The 1986 Ford Bronco XLT in the featured clip isn't your usual third gen, though. A true sleeper, this fellow rocks a 444-ci M block with Holley HPEFI and a pair of 61-millimeter turbos for good measure. According to its owner, the unassuming SUV produces around 669 horsepower at the wheels. Peak torque? Circa 1,000 pound-feet (1,358 Nm), thank you!
Owned by Ryan Hauf, this block further prides itself on Trick Flow heads, a Howards roller cam, 32-inch Cooper mud-terrain rubber, a Detroit Locker out back, a wicked instrument cluster from Intellitronix, and stock brakes. Equipped with drums for the rear wheels, this Bronco also runs the factory-issue suspension instead of some aftermarket solution.
Pictured at the Santa Margarita Ranch airstrip, the Bronco is joined by a high-mileage Viper GTS from the 1996 model year. The V10-powered coupe normally outputs 450 horsepower and 490 pound-feet (664 Nm), although this particular SR II belts out a little more due to a number of tasteful mods.
From 18- by 12-inch and 18- by 13-inch tires to long-tube headers à la the ACR-X racing car, a 3.0-inch titanium cat-back exhaust, and a bunch of holes for bettering cooling, this blast from the past isn't for the faint of heart. As far as the interior is concerned, only the gear knob was replaced with an ACR knob.
Photo: Hoonigan on YouTube
Owned by Nick Reid, the Viper scoots off extremely well in the first of three drag races, making easy work of the body-on-frame SUV over 1,000 feet (305 meters) of runway. Ryan kept close, though, and he came even closer to Nick in the second dig race.
Round two saw the Bronco launch significantly better, but alas, the Viper crossed the 500-foot (152-meter) finish line a bumper ahead of the twin-turbo colossus. Ryan asserted dominance in the third and final race, which also took place over 500 feet instead of 1,000 feet.
He crossed the line half a car length ahead of the blue-painted Viper. Had they raced over a greater distance, the better tires, more slippery aerodynamics, and six-speed manual (compared to a three-speed automatic in the Bronco) would have resulted in three straight wins for the Viper GTS.
As you're well aware, Chrysler pulled the plug on the Dodge Viper in 2017 due to poor demand and new safety regulations that required side curtain airbags. The final-gen Dodge Viper doesn't offer enough room for curtain airbags, and that's the gist of it.
As for the Bronco, the Ford Motor Company revived this iconic nameplate for the 2021 model year on the Ranger's platform. It's produced exclusively in the United States at the Michigan Assembly Plant. For the time being, that is, because the Bronco will also be assembled in China beginning in 2024 by Jiangling Ford, a joint venture between the American automaker and Chinese outfit Jiangling Motors.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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