Spy Video, Underbody / Suspension and Interior Closeups of 2021 Bronco Prototype!

[NM Design]

After looking at the photos, and reading through the thread I noticed these two bolts just in front of the coil over mount and this led me to looking at the Ranger Raptor suspension. Being on the T6 platform there are some similarities between the two an interesting comparison at the least.

Anyone know what they use these bolts for? If anything at all, some pictures had acorn nuts, others had nothing like the bronco.

US Ranger just for comparison

Sponsored

 

[mikonrad]

Couldn't make it past page 4 here, sheesh lol, i'll wait for more leaks and or "leaks" before I add to the discussion.

Ah, there you are. I'll be looking forward to the commentary - @ChrispyKC has been working alone here in the encouragement dept. Poured out a 40oz for you Chrispy. A SFA option would be nuts (and ideal) but I'm open to see what Ford does here. Portal axle option is probably irrationally-optimistic, but I'm optimistic.

Don't know why, but I find it interesting - in all the shots we've seen, Ford made zero effort in covering what appears to be a conventional IFS. Just seems odd I guess - because I'm assuming they knew this would be a big deal with the Bronco release, and the fact there's been no-effort for concealment for such a persistently controversial topic seems to be *too much* of an oversight to be an oversight, if that makes sense? Like Chrispy said, I wonder if something else isn't going on. Keep in mind, we still haven't seen the two door (not even a half-decent look at the 2d mule) and have no idea what Ford's been running in the dark for the past few months, so I'm hoping there's 'more' to this subject than what we're seeing.

 

[Jake_zx2]

I'm the 90% that wants a removable top

Already got delusions of grandeur of taking it off on trails and to the beach

Same here. Removable top is a dealbreaker for me, as that's the only reason I want a Bronco over anything else. If I didn't want a removable top, I probably would've already bought a Ranger... or a Dodge 3500

 

[Rogues Gambit]

Beyond my emotional bond with the early Bronco, here is why I am intrigued by the new Bronco offering.

I live at 9100 feet. Normally aspirated motors lose 27% of their power at that elevation.
I’m climbing mountains constantly. Last year we had 25 feet of snow over the season at the house. A 270 hp 4Runner drops to around 200hp up here. The Ecoboost maintains it’s HP and generates much higher torque.

A normal day could include:

• a run to a ski resort with gear,
• a trip to the grocery,
• a full on car camping trip with gear, bikes, etc. altitudes nearing 13000.
• 4wd engaged for days or weeks at a time.
• Once a year cross country towing a U Haul.
• Several tows of a 5000 pound center console.

Plus several times a year, we do 50 to 300 mile interstate, 25 mile gravel, 7 to 10 mile wilderness flyfishing trips that include miles of baby heads, deep ruts, some mud and leftover snow. Not rock crawling, but too much for the average Explorer I’d say.

Today, I do all this with a 2013 Ecoboost Screw. In powerful comfort and high reliability. But it is huge, and I’ve been stopped twice on small winding mountain trails that Rubis and LandRovers can handle.

The wife wants something smaller as well. Reliability is key for me, so the 4Runner TRD Pro is the only potential Bronco contender in my view. In fact, when I am offroad up here, more locals drive Tacomas, 4Runners, FJs, Landcruisers, etc. There is just too much personal risk if you were to break down in the wilderness areas. The Jeeps we do see are often not locally owned. There are some, but it is usually folks from elsewhere.

I think the Bronco is gonna be my first choice, and I won’t take a closer look at the Toyota unless they do some forced induction.

My bonafides, circa 1980. 105 HP 170 cu in 3 on the tree....

Beautiful Bronco there, and yeah, Jeeps won't have what you're looking for, maybe with the Turbo diesel, but that's 4dr only, with a $6k premium ($4k engine + $2k auto), and it's too early to know the reliability of the 3.0dt, although the last gen ecodiesel wasn't that reliable.

2.7tt has been out long enough to of proven it's mettle, and if it's all we're lead to believe, the ultimate Jeep Rival, though sub the axle for power

 

[Rogues Gambit]

Same here. Removable top is a dealbreaker for me, as that's the only reason I want a Bronco over anything else. If I didn't want a removable top, I probably would've already bought a Ranger... or a Dodge 3500

That and the transmission are deal breakers, though now it's solely on whether or not a manual will be available.

 

[OX1]

I would say it is a solid mix of both. Nearly all of the off-roaders of old that are fondly remembered had removeable tops as well. wranglers, broncos, yotas, rovers, hell even the suzukis some crazy folk built up. It is a formula that many have tried and succeeded on in the past in that marketspace, and it hasn't really changed. But there is only one player there right now. That is one of the things many didn't like about the Bronco II was the solid top. or the FJ Cruiser. I am not sure if the 4runner would gain market or lose market if they did it though, as they are primarily marketed as a smaller family SUV that dad won't be embarrassed driving around in.

This is why I posted this thread.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/ifs-on-40s-for-crawling.953/

Awful lot of Ford apologizers who for years now said that a killer IFS could and would be made, so just hold on.
I tried to give the benefit of the doubt, searched around, and found what I thought was the most badarse IFS that could
be made, WITHOUT making a mid size, fullsize width. Where is even a hint of that, 4 months before reveal?

 

[Streetfish]

But don't discount what it's capable of as well.

100% this. The bronco will be competitive with the wrangler. They are benchmarking things like break over/departure angles, ground clearance, tire size, wheel travel. Their highest trim version will probably also be able to get through Moab or the Rubicon trail in stock form. If it does this it meets the same off-road capability criteria as Jeep.

It seems what people are complaining about regarding capability is for ease of modifying the platform to add even more capability beyond stock which is really an entirely different conversation and an even smaller market segment. I'm sure the after market will have lift kits and bigger tires amongst other things to help here but I doubt that it's worth it for ford to benchmark what the most modified bronco with a IFS can do against a modified Jeep with a SFA.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

100% this. The bronco will be competitive with the wrangler. They are benchmarking things like break over/departure angles, ground clearance, tire size, wheel travel. Their highest trim version will probably also be able to get through Moab or the Rubicon trail in stock form. If it does this it meets the same off-road capability criteria as Jeep.

It seems what people are complaining about regarding capability is for ease of modifying the platform to add even more capability beyond stock which is really an entirely different conversation and an even smaller market segment. I'm sure the after market will have lift kits and bigger tires amongst other things to help here but I doubt that it's worth it for ford to benchmark what the most modified bronco with a IFS can do against a modified Jeep with a SFA.

Gotcha, that makes sense.

So who wants to wager what the next big reveal will be?

 

[BHShaman]

You’re the same group that want an automatic GT350.

I don't wan't an automatic GT350.

I want to acknowledge that all the people buying baseline Mustangs ALLOWS Ford to build the GT350.
Like all the Mall Ride Wrangler Sport models, allow for the Rubicon.

 

[Jalisurr]

I don't wan't an automatic GT350.

I want to acknowledge that all the people buying baseline Mustangs ALLOWS Ford to build the GT350.
Like all the Mall Ride Wrangler Sport models, allow for the Rubicon.

And I don't think the people buying automatic, convertible, V6 mustangs are buying them because the GT350 exists.

The people buying the Ecoboost performance pack mustangs, maybe are buying because of the GT350's image. But if the GT350 was a drag car like the Challenger Hellcat, would they still buy them? Probably most would. If the top trim Bronco is a fully kitted overlander or ZR2/Raptor-esque vehicle, that gives an image just the same as a rock crawler, without needing to make a blue oval branded wrangler clone.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

I don't wan't an automatic GT350.

I want to acknowledge that all the people buying baseline Mustangs ALLOWS Ford to build the GT350.
Like all the Mall Ride Wrangler Sport models, allow for the Rubicon.

An automatic GT350 is blasphemous

 

[frinesi2]

Go on ...

Sponsored