In the first year of production, the sixth-gen Bronco is offered with a choice of two forced-induction engines. The base four-cylinder turbo comes with a seven-speed manual or 10-speed automatic while the optional six-cylinder turbo is matched exclusively to the 10R60 box.
The 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 may not be as economical, but it’s the powerplant you want in a body-on-frame vehicle as large and heavy as the Bronco. With the fuel tank filled up with premium unleaded, this engine is much obliged to crank out 330 horsepower and 415 pound-feet (563 Nm) of torque. The question is, how many ponies actually get to the rear wheels?
Wonder no more because the peeps at Hennessey Performance Engineering have got you covered. The vehicle in the attached clip is a four-door Badlands without the Sasquatch Package, which means that we’re dealing with a 4.41:1 final drive ratio for the rear differential. In this configuration, the dyno sheet reveals 285 horsepower at 4,600 revolutions per minute and 384 pound-feet (521 Nm) of torque at 3,600 rpm, both of them at the wheels.
In other words, the non-Sasquatch Bronco Badlands with the largest engine available is losing horsepower and torque to the tune of 13.6 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. Those who prefer the 2.3-liter EcoBoost should also be aware that Late Model Restoration has dyno’d a Sasquatched Big Bend at 225 horsepower and 304 pound-feet (412 Nm) in seventh gear.
The reason Hennessey Performance Engineering is baselining the six-cylinder engine and Badlands trim level is the VelociRaptor 400 package, which is currently under development at full steam. The go-faster company from Texas intends to improve the V6 to 405 horsepower and 503 pound-feet (682 Nm) of torque at the crankshaft by upgrading the air induction system, exhaust, and by recalibrating the ECU with a more aggressive map.
Only 400 units of the VelociRaptor 400 will be offered in the first year of production, and each costs $80,000 including the donor Bronco Badlands.
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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