We’d be lying if we said we weren’t just a little jealous of our Seppo cousins at the moment. Sure, the full-size pickups are a bit of fun, but their recently released Bronco is eye wateringly cool. Designed as a serious off-roader first and foremost it packs a whole bunch of killer 4×4 features we’d love to see down under. Hydraulically disconnecting swaybars, crawler gears, 35in tyres stock and trail turn assist that’ll spin the big Bronco around nearly in place. It’s enough to make a 4×4 owner almost lose their cool with envy. But Ford just seriously stepped it up a notch. And we’re not sure we can contain our jealousy anymore. A few hours ago Ford unveiled a Raptor version of the Bronco. And quite frankly. It’s insane.
Under the bonnet
Under the bonnet is a 3.0 V6 packing twin turbochargers. Ford currently uses the same donk in the Explorer ST punching out 298kW and 562Nm of torque, that’s up 5% in torque and 30% in power. It’s backed by the 10 speed automatic and dual speed transfer case. It spits exhaust gases out through twin pipes with variable performance and volume, the driver being able to select between Normal, Sport, Quiet, and Baja. We’ve got our fingers and toes crossed Ford will see fit to slot the 3.0 in the upcoming Ranger Raptor.
The go fast stuff
One of the most noticeable differences with the new Bronco Raptor is the huge 37in tyres from the factory. They’re wrapped around 17in deadlock wheels and help bump the track out a huge 250mm over stock. The suspension features huge trailing arms in the rear with coilers on each corner. Fox 3.1 internal bypass shocks feature position sensitive damping and offer up a huge 13in of travel up front and 14in in the rear. That’s 40% and 60% more than the base model respectively.
The G.O.A.T.
One of the best features of the current Bronco is Ford’s G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Terrain) modes. The Bronco Raptor adds on this with Baja mode that adds turbo anti-lag, one-pedal driving modes, an improved transfer case with lower gearing as well as upgraded diffs and driveshafts front and rear.
Unfortunately the official word at the moment is there’s no plans to bring the Bronco down under in any trim level, but with the upcoming Ranger Raptor aiming to step things up a notch this should give us a few clues on what we can expect to see in the flagship mid-size ute when it’s officially launched.
Quick Links
See the Bronco in action – Ford America YouTube
Mr4x4 – 5 Bronco Features we can’t live without
