cars news 10: 2021 Ford Bronco Will Reportedly Get a Removable Top and Doors

The Ford Bronco is finally coming back next year to enter the (relatively) affordable off-road SUV space largely dominated by Jeep’s Wrangler, and it will headline an eventual family of off-roaders that will include two- and four-door Broncos, a front-drive-based baby Bronco, and—as we reported last summer—a small unibody pickup. The latter two will be revealed soon enough, but for now here’s what we know about Ford’s reborn SUV icon:

Two- and four-door versions will be available, as will rear- and four-wheel drive. According to Automotive News, FoMoCo revealed a two-door Bronco prototype at a shindig last month for top dealers in Palm Beach, Florida, and confirmed to its franchisees that a four-door model is coming, too. The dealers also saw the so-called “baby Bronco” and Ford’s Mustang-inspired EV crossover that will offer 300 miles of range.

The grille says “Bronco” across the front. This follows Ford’s practice of giving its trucks and SUVs bold grilles; the Raptor, for example, features a huge “FORD” across its front end.

The doors and hard top will be removable. Following in the path of the Wrangler—which has offered these features for years—and other old-school off-roaders, the new Bronco will be customizable with the doors and top able to be stashed in the cargo hold. Unlike the Jeep, its side mirrors are affixed to the A-pillars and stay in place when the doors are removed.

There will be a spare tire on the back. No “tire mobility kit” or dinky donut here.

The Bronco will share a platform with the next-generation Ranger. Ford will also build the Bronco alongside the midsize pickup at its Michigan Assembly plant.

The SUV has retro boxy styling. Like the Broncos of yore—think 1965, not 1996—the new version sports a rectangular grille, round headlights, and a squared-off profile.

It may offer a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 as the top-spec engine. The V-6 delivers 325 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque in the F-150. There is likely to be a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder option offered as well.

Ford might offer a seven-speed manual. There will of course be an automatic transmission, almost assuredly the 10-speed unit co-developed with GM. But some reports suggest Ford has tapped Getrag to supply a seven-speed manual. Fingers crossed!

There will definitely be a hybrid version. Ford has already gone on record that the Bronco will be electrified in some way, and we’d expect some version of the system that will be available in the new Explorer.

Expect prices to start in the mid-$30,000s. We will know more as we get closer to the Bronco’s official debut.

It goes on sale in late 2020. That’s a few months after the baby Bronco.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)