Winter Is Coming and If You’re into Snowboarding, This Bronco Could Become Your Dream Ride

In most parts of the world, the coldest season will officially start in about a month, and with it, some of the most exciting slopes will be ready to shred. However, organized slopes might just be too boring if you’re a seasoned snowboarder who likes to push the limits further and further every year. There are many alternatives regardless of the mountain range you choose to shred but getting to these remote areas that will test your skills is easier said than done.

Oftentimes, you’ll have to leave your vehicle behind and navigate through deep snow on foot to reach these wild slopes. This can be fun but also very difficult - if not downright dangerous - especially when you have the gear to haul. Sure, you could rent a snowmobile, but what if you could navigate difficult parts of the mountain in your very own Bronco?

Ford’s marketing department came up with a concept that could answer that question and decided that turning it into reality would help boost the model’s popularity. But, even if the new Bronco is a formidable off-roading weapon in stock form, it needed some extensive upgrades to comfortably navigate through deep snow and ice. So, instead of making these modifications themselves, Ford chose Tucci Hot Rods for the job.

You might be wondering why on Earth the Blue Oval would choose a company that has the words “hot rod” in its name to transform an SUV into a snowboarder’s ultimate companion.

Well, ever since the early 2000s, the Marcy, NY-based shop currently run by Dave Tucci and his son Dom has been pushing the boundaries of custom fabrication well beyond the limits of classic hot rods. The epic builds that followed and the crew’s openness to take on new challenges have earned the shop worldwide recognition, which encouraged Ford to commission several show cars in the past.

That being said, creating the ultimate winter off-roader posed a whole different challenge but as you can see, the custom builders managed to deliver a jaw-dropping vehicle that exceeded expectations.

It all started with a brand-new, four-door Bronco which, even in Badlands guise, was no match for deep snow and ice. To solve this, the crew’s first order of business was swapping the SUV’s stock 18-inch wheels and all-terrain tires with a set of Mattracks 88-series quad tracks.

Developed specifically for such conversions, the tracks were guaranteed to work as intended and boost the Bronco’s off-road capabilities but, esthetically, they didn’t exactly match the vehicle’s looks, so Dom redesigned all four fenders and wheel wells, following the shape of the tracks. In addition, Rigid Industries’ underbody lighting was mounted inside each wheel well and power-retractable running boards from Amp Research were added to make it easier to climb inside the vehicle.

With the wheels gone, there was no point for the spare tire attached to the rear swing gate. Instead of removing it altogether, the crew designed a new rack that could hold a pair of fuel cans, a shovel, and a chase light.

In the front, the Bronco got a beefy custom bumper equipped with Rigid fog lights, as well as a WARN ZEON 10S winch.

Since this was meant to be the freestyle snowboarder’s dream ride, a high-quality Yakima snowboard rack was added. However, this component was also thoroughly modified, resulting in the awesome angled snowboard mounts unique to this Bronco.

Usually, a Tucci Hot Rods build also gets a fair share of custom components under the hood, but, in this case, the factory setup was considered more than adequate, so this amazing Bronco’s stock 2.3-liter EcoBoost was left untouched.

The same can be said about the SUV’s factory Cactus Gray paint but, in this case, a custom wrap that fades from neon green to dark gray has been added to bolster the distinctiveness of the entire vehicle.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this epic Bronco became one of the stars of the 2021 SEMA show. Although it was essentially a show car, it was later put to the test in winter conditions, proving that it could easily plow through deep snow and serve as the snowboarder’s ultimate rig.

You can take a virtual tour of this incredible ride in the video below posted on YouTube by The Bronco Nation.