You Won't Find the Ford Bronco's Engineering Team in the U.S.

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Even though Ford hasn’t confirmed it, we know a reborn Ford Bronco is on its way.

Long before a UAW rep spilled the beans about the manly model’s return, Bronco buffs were already giddy with anticipation. TTAC’s managing editor has hardly slept a wink.

Now, word comes that there is indeed a development team hard at work on the model (expected to appear sometime in 2018), but you won’t find them in the vast lands bordered by the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Sources tell Australia’s Motoring that the Bronco is taking shape at Ford’s Asia-Pacific Product Development Center in the suburbs of Melbourne, deep Down Under.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the resurrected Bronco borrows the global Ford Ranger’s T6 ladder platform. Both Ranger and Bronco are due to roll off the automaker’s Michigan Assembly Plant once the Focus and C-max take a hike south, but the Australian is responsible for shaping all products that use the T6. That includes the Everest SUV, a product foreign to U.S. eyes.

Reportedly, early Bronco test mules have been spotted near the company’s You Yang proving ground near Geelong, Victoria.

The Bronco’s final shape and specifications is still a mystery that Ford hasn’t shed any light on, but its direct competitor will be the next-generation Wrangler. That iconic ( model won’t see its boxy, utilitarian shape change much, so expect a rugged, square-rigged Bronco when the model does go on sale stateside, likely as a 2019 model.

Now, it would be nice if the Blue Oval fed the anticipation by releasing details on whether the model will come in two-door guise, or perhaps offer a removable hardtop. After all, a true off-roader calls for a feeling of danger and exposure to the elements that only comes through open-top motoring. For those too afraid to handle that, well, there’s always the EcoSport.

[Image: Ford Motor Company]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Dukeisduke Dukeisduke on Nov 11, 2016

    I'm looking forward to the new Ranger. If they have a decent crew cab, the '13 Tacoma might just get sold or traded in.

  • Higheriq Higheriq on Nov 14, 2016

    I strongly suspect that a great many people will be disappointed with this new Bronco.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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