Design
Ford Bronco R trucks could hit the racetrack — if teams want them
A company executive said if race teams are interested, it might supply the souped up version of the 2021 Bronco.
Ford might offer its Bronco R racing truck to teams that want them. The Bronco R is a custom version of the 2021 Bronco that the company made specifically for last year's Baja 1000. It features an upgraded suspension and wider tires than the consumer Bronco, among other enhancements, but Ford only made one specifically for the race.
In an interview with Muscle Cars & Trucks, the chief product development officer of Ford, Hau Thai-Tang, said if teams express interest in a ready-built race truck like the Bronco R, the company might build them. Ford already builds a turn-key Mustang race car, called the Mustang FP350S. The phrase "turn-key" means racing teams can buy a track-ready version with all the enhancements built-in, rather than doing that work themselves.
The Bronco is back — SUVs are America's car of choice today, and excitement for the 2021 Bronco has been understandably high since it was unveiled back in July. The SUV was discontinued in 1996 after the infamous OJ Simpson chase tainted its reputation among consumers, but the new model quickly racked up over 150,000 pre-orders following its debut.
The new Bronco is highly-customizable and built with off-road terrain in mind. If you want to take off the doors and roof for some summer fun you can, and extra compartments and carabiner-friendly loops give it an adventure-focused design. But new features like a 12-inch touch display give it a modern feel and it will fit in just fine in urban environments.
If racing teams want a purpose-built version, they'll have to speak up. The Bronco only came back into production thanks to years of underground efforts by a team of skunkworks engineers at Ford that designed the new version in their spare time.
