Photo: jamesduffbroncos / Instagram
During its original stint, five generations of the first Blue Oval SUV – Ford's Bronco – were produced and sold between 1966 and 1996. So, what’s up with this red example having the 2001 timestamp on it? And why did the company hide it for two decades?
The answer to the first question is easy to explain. The second one, meanwhile, might forever remain a mystery. So, let’s get the facts straight. The obvious take is that we are not dealing with the same crimson Bronco used by the folks over at Car and Driver to break the Internet... while performing a mid-air stunt. Yes, everyone (at least in the Bronco community) is now talking about the flying Bronco, instead of the bucking Bronco.
So, with that out of the way, here’s the official story, as shared by the social media account of the James Duff Bronco Experts with help from a Hagerty-sanctioned event plaque (the 2021 Concours d’Elegance Of America, July 25th, Plymouth, Michigan). Apparently, not long after discontinuing the fifth generation Bronco, the head honchos over at Ford mused about bringing it back to life as both a 2-Door and an all-new 4-Door. It all sounds familiar up to this point.
But that was the early 2000s. Emphasis on early, as this design proposal was created back in 2001 by a styling team led by Moray Callum. If the name sounds familiar it’s because we’re dealing with the current Vice President of Design for the Ford Motor Company. And also, the elder brother of the renowned Ian Callum of Jaguar fame.
The considered revival optioned the modern Bronco on the backbones of a future Ford Ranger architecture. Though, in the end, its success across company-ordered research didn’t materialize into a production model on the account of “business factors” its creation wasn’t without an echo. Of course, we all know how much time the Detroit automaker needed to bring to market the reinvented sixth-generation...
So, with that out of the way, here’s the official story, as shared by the social media account of the James Duff Bronco Experts with help from a Hagerty-sanctioned event plaque (the 2021 Concours d’Elegance Of America, July 25th, Plymouth, Michigan). Apparently, not long after discontinuing the fifth generation Bronco, the head honchos over at Ford mused about bringing it back to life as both a 2-Door and an all-new 4-Door. It all sounds familiar up to this point.
But that was the early 2000s. Emphasis on early, as this design proposal was created back in 2001 by a styling team led by Moray Callum. If the name sounds familiar it’s because we’re dealing with the current Vice President of Design for the Ford Motor Company. And also, the elder brother of the renowned Ian Callum of Jaguar fame.
The considered revival optioned the modern Bronco on the backbones of a future Ford Ranger architecture. Though, in the end, its success across company-ordered research didn’t materialize into a production model on the account of “business factors” its creation wasn’t without an echo. Of course, we all know how much time the Detroit automaker needed to bring to market the reinvented sixth-generation...
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