It’s been eons since the rumor mill started churning out reports about the Bronco’s revival. The Ford Motor Company then confirmed the body-on-frame SUV would come back, and as you can tell from the ending credits of the following teaser clip, Spring 2020 is when the Jeep Wrangler’s nemesis will be revealed.
Like the Ranger mid-sized pickup on which it’s based, the 2021 Bronco will be manufactured at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Michigan. From a document the Ford Motor Company titled “winning portfolio,” it is clear the off-roader won’t be sold in Europe.
Ford chose either of two possible paths for the underpinnings of the mid-sized SUV. The easiest course of action would be to utilize an evolution of the Ranger’s North American platform, but the second option should be considered as well. More to the point, the Blue Oval could utilize an updated T6 platform - similar to that of the Ranger Raptor or next-generation Ranger - featuring a Watts linkage rear suspension and coilover springs.
Remember our report about the Bronco R that failed to finish the Baja 1000? The Ford Motor Company had the following to say in the press release: “The race prototype is built on a modified T6 architecture that will provide the base for the production model.” Also worthy of mention, the Blue Oval had also confirmed an independent front suspension with 14 inches of travel and “a production-based five-link rear axle with up to 18 inches of travel.”
Something else we know about the 2021 Bronco is that the shock absorbers are Fox, the 17-inch aluminum wheels are beadlock-capable, and that the tires are 37 inchers from BF Goodrich. If you know your Fords well, what all of this mumbo-jumbo means is that the Bronco has Ranger Raptor know-how.
Before pressing play to see the “experimental Bronco prototype” doing its thing in the sand and on rocky trails, don’t forget that the most obvious culprit under the hood is the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 from the Edge ST.
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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