MATTHEW GUY
In what has become the most drawn-out reveal the off-road world has ever seen, new video has been released of the when-will-we-see-it Ford Bronco.
How do big knobby tires and some trick rear differential action sound to you?
Check out how the Bronco intentionally drags one of its rear wheels at the 0:25 mark in the video
If you’ve ever watched any sort of rally racing, you know exactly the benefit to this ability. By sliding a rear wheel during cornering on a slippery surface, one virtually shortens the vehicle’s wheelbase and permits it to navigate a corner that might otherwise require a three-point turn.
It isn’t totally clear if this feat is accomplished here by way of traction control programming or creativeness with the Bronco’s braking system. Your author is certain it’s not a simple handbrake turn since the rear wheel locks and unlocks itself with some measure of precision while the fronts power forward. Some call it a ‘front dig.’ We call it a gauntlet thrown directly at Jeep, since it’s a feature that truck doesn’t have.
Elsewhere in the clip, rocks and mud are flung with wild abandon from both two- and four-door versions of the upcoming Blue Oval off-roader. Six-lug wheels are wrapped in off-road tires of indeterminate origin. Another promotional video on the same channel shows a couple of Wranglers lurking in the background.
Popular opinion points to a 2.3L EcoBoost living under the Bronco’s hood, sharing much with the Ranger pickup truck and potentially mated to an optional seven-speed manual transmission. Expect to find different trim packages on its order sheet, some tilted towards general use and others with greater off-road chops. In other words, there will definitely be a Rubicon competitor on the roster.
Billed by Ford as a ‘rugged mid-size SUV,’ it’ll be looking to take some of the Wrangler’s lunch money when it finally appears in dealer showrooms. Its release has been pushed back thanks to difficulties in automotive manufacturing brought on by the global pandemic.
