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 (#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]
Mark is triggered and needs a safe space, right away.
Body on frame? Interesting. Sounds like they are serious about competing head to head with Wrangler.
@indi500fan
Definitely short wheelbase version of the Ranger will be pretty good off road
US Bronco used to be made here, had a 351 cu in V8
If the Bronco is going to be designed off-shore, at least the Australians certainly know what off-road means.
New ad in Foster’s “How to speak Australian” series:
*BAFO lurches away from pavement and drops in a ditch*
OFF-ROAD
Appropriately enough, the one for “HYBRID” shows two bogans pushing a third in a topless third-gen. Bronco.
We can look forward to the BAF-ROAD Edition, complete with huge chicken emblems and screaming chickens on the leather seats!
I find that very BAF-putting.
Will it come in white?
-OJ
Actually it’s AC (Cowlings). I wonder what happened to it after the crime lab was done with it? Did AC get it back, or did it go to auction?
I think that they both had one, though it was AC’s Bronco in the televised pursuit.
A two-door model doesn’t seem likely. The lone 2-door SUV holdout is greatly outsold by its Unlimited sibling.
Chevrolet did the same thing with the Camaro due to the platform sharing with the Holdens.
This is great mews, so long as the US Bronco doesn’t have the Getrag manual. At 50 000 km it appears the 3rd gearbox might be needed. Torque is a killer.
I wonder if it will have a 2.7 EcoThirst? I’m hoping, as thats a good omen for the Ranger.
Ford’s move in Australia has benefited tje country. The high paying jobs remain.
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.
I strongly suspect that a great many people will be disappointed with this new Bronco.