OFFICIAL UNVEIL ANNOUNCEMENT
AND
FORD KILLS THE FORD AT DAKAR WEBSITE AND RACING TEAM!
WHAT IS NEXT???!!!
Update June 6, 2020
The BajaRacingNews.com ONLINE UNVEIL NOW SCHEDULED FOR Thursday, June 25, 5PM WEST
Our livestreamed unveiling of the newly relaunched Bronco will also include the redesigned 2021 Ford F-150.
The consumer equipment explained;
don't let the FORD Performance FAIL at the 2019 Baja 1000 crush your passion to purchase!
The Bronco-R FAILS
FORD MOTOR COMPANY "DNF'S"
DID NOT FINISH BAJA 1000 2019
Scam Steele & Johnny Campbell
Managing the racing??? WTF!!!
FORD FUCKS THE HORSE!
The ongoing current reporting on the Bronco Re-Launch and the Ranger
FORD BRONCO FIRST OFFERED DURING THE 1965 MODEL YEAR
NEW FORD BRONCO TO BE UNLEASHED IN 2020, FIRST ANNOUNCED HERE
Remember all of our updates, from years ago!
"UPDATE 12-26-2017
Baja Racing News LIVE!
Your Real Baja Insider, Gary Newsome, Editor.
The truck (FORD Ranger) will be built at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, alongside a NEW version of the Bronco SUV.
The Bronco will be revealed at a later date. [Finally July 2020!]
[Over three years of FORD Teases]
January 14, 2018
RANGER LAUNCH (2019) FIRST STEP TOWARD "BRONCO 2020"".
UPDATE! November 14, 2019
The unveil of the Bronco-R, before
THE MASSIVE FAIL AT THE 2019 BAJA 1000
x
Baja Racing News LIVE! EXCLUSIVE
CLICK HERE FOR MORE RACING BRONCO NEWS!
Continued Reporting!
November 10, 2019:
“Like the original Bronco, we kept Bronco R’s design authentic and simple, with a roll cage on a production-style frame, and a five-piece lightweight body on top”.
“For the endurance needs of Baja’s 1,000 grueling miles, we built in a limited number of race-focused parts. But even the twin turbos of the Ecoboost engine are representative of what the production Bronco will offer.”
Brian Novak, Ford Performance off-road racing supervisor.
BajaRacingNews LIVE! EXCLUSIVE
November 7:
"Back in the Saddle!"
"Hinting at upcoming Bronco production model, Ford’s Bronco R race prototype debuts in the desert to celebrate 50th anniversary of Rod Hall’s historic Baja 1000 win, an overall victory in a 4x4 that’s never been duplicated in 50 years It was built for this, its engine roaring through the heat of the Mojave and its racing tires spraying desert sand. As the last grain settled, the vehicle that is all at once a tribute and a test and a tease, came in to focus. It was no mirage. Bronco – in the form of a race-inspired Bronco R prototype – is back. As a tribute, it was appropriately parked alongside the Bronco that Rod Hall and Larry Minor famously drove to an overall win 50 years ago at the 1969 Baja 1000 – a victory that no other 4x4 has replicated. Featuring a race livery inspired by Hall’s winning vehicle, Bronco R passes the torch to off-road racer Shelby Hall, Rod’s granddaughter, who will drive it for portions of this year’s prestigious race in honor of her late grandfather. As a test, the Bronco R will head back to the Baja Peninsula later this month to take on the near 1,000-mile grueling off-road course and challenge the production Bronco’s powertrain and architecture. And as a tease, the Bronco R – developed by Ford Performance in collaboration with builder Geiser Bros Design and Development and Baja 1000 Trophy Truck champion Cameron Steele – drops heritage-inspired design and proportion hints of what enthusiasts can expect to see when the future Bronco makes its world premiere next spring “Bronco’s win at Baja in 1969 was epic, something that even after 50 years has not been repeated,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product development and purchasing officer. “Rugged endurance racing is such a big part of Bronco heritage. The Baja 1000 gives us not only the perfect setting to honor Rod Hall’s win, it also provides an authentic test bed to demonstrate our upcoming Bronco’s desert racing capability and durability.” Iconic Bronco design at first sight Hidden behind an innocuous security door in a Ford studio basement, a small team led by Paul Wraith, Bronco chief designer, worked since July to make the race prototype unmistakably Bronco at first sight. The team worked in secret to create a one-off build that hints at the all-new Bronco to come, while paying homage to the first-generation Bronco’s styling and proportions that made the nameplate an instant off-road icon a half-century ago. The team focused on creating a race-ready look with an overall heritage-inspired design language. With its compressed body height and long-travel suspension, Bronco R features an ultra-wide stance, while a variety of aero components reinforce its performance intent. The prototype’s lightweight composite body includes a clamshell hood and roof, as well as clean body panels that harken back to the first-generation Bronco models (1966 – 1977). A cut-roof design allows rear seat passengers to use a second-row hatch for access. The exterior incorporates 15 LED lightbars from Rigid, including a grille sequence framing the new BRONCO brand lettering boldly. To underscore that this is a one-of-a-kind racing prototype, the “R” is given a sharp graphic treatment. Washers inscribed with the Bronco name are visible at various points around the exterior and secure the composite skin to the roll cage beneath it. A unique race-focused interior features lightweight off-road racing shells from Recaro for all three seating positions. Simple surfaces of the instrument panel nod to the first-generation Bronco, and the integration of a MoTeC data acquisition system enables real-time monitoring and measurement of the prototype’s performance attributes. With its exterior inspired by the winning 1969 Baja 1000 Bronco livery, the Ford Performance Bronco R race prototype pays tribute with its red, white and black colors accented by its blue space frame. No. “2069” stretches across its rear quarter-panel and wing – “20” to signal the class in which it will race and “69” in honor of the year in which Hall and Minor roared to an overall victory in the Mexican 1000 (now SCORE-International Baja 1000). “My grandfather was so proud of the 1969 Baja race and of his Bronco,” said Shelby Hall. “More than just the memory of winning Baja, he loved that Bronco. I have no doubt he would be blown away by the Bronco R race prototype.” Sketch to race prototype in six months To mark the 50th anniversary of Bronco’s Baja 1000 win, Wraith and team worked in concert with Ford Performance, builder Geiser Bros Design and Development of Phoenix, Arizona, and Baja 1000 Trophy Truck champion Cameron Steele to make the Nov. 22 race start. They used cutting-edge tools such as high-tech virtual reality, polygon modeling and 3D printing to develop parts, but also incorporated low-fidelity prototyping and role-playing to aid problem-solving and swift decision-making. “This wasn’t our usual development process, but it was the right process for this project,” said Wraith. “We found, created or adapted the right tool for the task at hand – a cool and exciting blend of old and new creative techniques. We stretched ourselves, but it was worth it – and great fun.” More than a celebration of Hall’s 1969 win, the Bronco R race prototype is designed with the production model’s body-on-frame architecture to test its capability and durability, while also energizing off-road enthusiasts who eagerly await the return of America’s original sport utility vehicle. The race prototype is built on a modified Ford T6 architecture that will provide the base for the production model. Beefed up for Baja, Bronco R features an independent front suspension with 14 inches of travel and a production-based five-link rear chassis design with up to 18 inches of travel, plus custom Fox shocks, 17-inch beadlock-capable aluminum wheels and 37-inch BFGoodrich tires. “Like the original Bronco, we kept Bronco R’s design authentic and simple, with a roll cage on a production-style frame, and a five-piece lightweight body on top,” said Brian Novak, Ford Performance off-road racing supervisor. “For the endurance needs of Baja’s 1,000 grueling miles, we built in a limited number of race-focused parts. But even the twin turbos of the EcoBoost® engine are representative of what the production Bronco will offer.” For the vehicle that was, and the vehicle that will be – it’s the vehicle that is. The Bronco R race prototype is no mirage. The sand is flying again, and the heat is on. It was built for this."
Official FORD Press Release
Reporting:
Surprise! Ford has something to show us on this Monday. It's not the production Ford Bronco, but this Ford Bronco R race truck is more than a subtle nod to what the final product will look like when it bows next year.
That's correct -- this isn't just some Bronco to celebrate a milestone -- it's going racing. Later this month, the Bronco R will head to the Baja Peninsula to once again tackle the grueling off-road race with a proper driver to boot. None other than Shelby Hall, Rod Hall's granddaughter, will pilot the Bronco R for parts of the race.
The 1,000-mile trek will put the Bronco's production powertrain to the test. We still don't know what exactly that powertrain is, however, but Ford referenced the twin-turbo EcoBoost engine attached to this racing prototype is "representative of what the production Bronco will offer.
"Ford put together a bit of a skunkworks team to make this thing happen. Paul Wraith, lead Bronco designer, curated a small team that worked in a sealed room in the basement of Ford's design studio. They emerged with what you see here in just six months. The SUV's width and race-ready parts clearly mask a production stance, but Ford was keen to underline that the overall look is close to what we'll see from the production Bronco.
From that, it's safe to say the body shape will look very similar and the front grille with "Bronco" spelled out across seems like a no-brainer for the production SUV. Use your imagination, and you'll be able to see where production headlights will go and start to fill in other cues. Checking over the rear doesn't reveal too much in race form, but imagine some blocky taillights and that spare tire mounted flush with the rear. A clamshell hood and roof also harken back to the first-generation Bronco.
It certainly looks like Ford won't disappoint loyalists with the SUV's overall shape. This looks like a proper off-road SUV with surprisingly elegant lines.
For racing purposes, there's a lot that won't make it to any production Bronco. Although it sits on the automaker's T6 architecture (that's for the production Bronco), there's a roll cage, independent front suspension with 14 inches of travel and a five-link rear chassis design that can move around 18 inches. Custom Fox shocks, 17-inch wheels and 37-inch tires help make the Bronco R a menacing-looking thing. Virtual reality and even 3D-printed parts helped this racing SUV come to life so quickly and in time for the race start.
We got a quick ride in the Bronco R with Baja 1000 champion Cameron Steele behind the wheel outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The motor pulls strong, sounding not unlike the 3.5-liter high output V6 found in the Raptor, although that has not been confirmed by Ford.
The Bronco R cruised over the lake bed and a few whoops at 80-plus miles per hour; a comfy ride with all that travel soaking up the bumps easily.
This is quite the appetizer. For those eagerly awaiting the production Bronco, it should certainly help ease the pain. Ford plans to drop the sheet from the production SUV next spring. The Bronco R will take to the start line on Nov. 22.
MORE PICTURES & VIDEOS
& COMPLETE STORY LOADING NOW>>>
LIVE! From Jeans Dry Lake, Nevada today
for the BRONCO-R Launch at SEMA 2019,
Scheduled for Wednesday, November 6
UPDATE END
November 4, 2019
UPDATED! November 14, 2018
"It’s a big Bronco news day, as we’ve just received a fascinating tip that the 2020 Ford Bronco will be just one (albeit the halo model) of an entire sub-brand of vehicles and one that encompasses the “Baby Bronco.”
What we’re being told is that the vehicle in the latest leaked image shows the “Bronco-(TBD)” a.k.a. the “Baby Bronco” and that Ford plans to have a full line of off-road capable SUVs that are named “BRONCO” with the full-size version (the one we are all waiting for) being the flagship of the lineup. The tipster goes on to say that larger Bronco flagship model will be what brings people into the showrooms and the smaller leaked vehicle, similarly sized to the Jeep Renegade, will be marketed to the masses for those looking for a more affordable version.
Both models will allegedly be released within a few months of each other so it may not be long before we have not one, but two next-gen Ford Bronco vehicles in the showrooms! A leaked image which comes by way of a Ford dealer meeting held in Las Vegas last month just gave us our first look at Ford’s upcoming new “Baby Bronco” but it also hides a secret tease of the 2020 Ford Bronco! First posted images which it claims was found on a public area of Ford’s website which hosted pictures of the 2018 dealer meeting in Vegas, and the site claims these show the 2020 Ford Bronco. Not only have we confirmed through our sources that the vehicle in the image is the yet-unnamed “Baby Bronco” but our eagle eyed members pointed out that the side profile image shows a shadow on the wall that does not match the profile of the vehicle.
We’ve outlined the Bronco’s shadow in the image above.The shadow shows a boxier, more upright vehicle that exactly matches the 2020 Bronco teaser image that Ford released back in March, while the orange vehicle shown in these latest leaked images looks closer to the “Baby Bronco” teaser. This provides not only a great preview of the Bronco’s silhouette but also a comparison overlay of the size and shape differences between the two vehicles.This conclusively settles it — this image teases both the 2020 Ford Bronco silhouette and the upcoming Baby Bronco. We expect both to debut early next year".
[Both actually debut not in 2019, but 2020]
CLICK HERE FOR OUR ONGOING BRONCO COVERAGE EXCLUSIVE!
with BajaRacingNews.com
Oct 29 UPDATE
"Drivetrain options are still being looked at with Ford’s market research in full-tilt. We should hear more about the drivetrain come next year, but the company is paying very close attention to the market’s response to VW’s Dieselgate scandal and the Colorado MT and Diesel sales.
It’s unlikely, however, that the new entry-level truck line would forgo an EcoBoost option due to the marketing forces behind the name. Transmission options have not been nailed down yet, but the poster mentioned that Ford was taking a good look at a 10-speed automatic transmission. Maybe Bronco fans were asking for manual options, but the current market forces highly favor the 8 – 10 speed transmissions. It would seems that both good news and bad news is coming out of the announcement as many truck fanatics had hoped for different news on some fronts. The FORD Bronco may not be the next Wrangler-killer and the Ford Ranger is not poised to change in size at all. At any rate, there’s plenty to be excited about concerning the midsize truck market in the coming years."
NEW BRONCO FIRST RELEASE WILL NOT BE 2-DOOR VERSION!
EXCLUSIVE! RAPTOR VERSION WILL BE AVAILABLE, ONLY AFTER ALL OTHER VERSIONS HAVE BEEN MARKETED
From another source: "The Ford Bronco is coming back. Ford confirmed the return of the legendary off-road SUV at the Detroit Auto Show in 2017, and we expect the 2020 Bronco will make its debut there next January (1919). Naturally, Ford hasn't released many further details on the 2020 Bronco, other than one teaser image, pictured above in Red, but we know it's based on the 2019 Ranger, which debuted earlier this year. We've compiled all we've heard about the new Bronco, including the details we can glean from the Ranger. The last-generation Bronco was based on the F-150, but Ford product head Joe Hinrichs told us the 2020 FORD Bronco will be based on the New Ranger. Someone claiming to be a Ford designer on Reddit said that the NEW Bronco will be similar to the Everest, a Ranger-based SUV sold in other markets.
Former Ford Chief Technical Officer Raj Nair, however, contradicted that assertion—he said the NEW Bronco will be a unique vehicle, not a reworked Everest. Size-wise, he said we expect something smaller than the original Bronco but bigger than the 1980s Bronco II. And if you're worried the new Bronco will be a glorified Explorer, don't be. He followed it up by saying "people have an idea of what a Bronco should be. Certainly, we have an idea of what a Bronco should be, and we're going to be looking forward to bringing that to our customers. "We wouldn't be surprised if Ford's NEW Bronco shares engine and transmission offerings with the Ranger since they'll share a platform. For the US market, the new Ranger gets a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder derived from the Focus RS. Ford hasn't released detailed specs for the Ranger's engine, but it has confirmed that it'll be equipped with a 10-speed automatic. Ford did, however, confirm in its 2018 Q1 earnings call that the NEW Bronco will get a hybrid drivetrain of some sort.
Interestingly, there's a chance the 2020 Bronco could get a manual transmission. Ford is working with Getrag on a new seven-speed manual for possible use in the NEW Bronco. There's a chance this gearbox—or any manual, for that matter—might not come to the production Bronco. A manual Bronco might not be a big seller, but it would give this 4x4 some serious enthusiast cred, and better position it against the Jeep Wrangler, which offers a six-speed stick. The alleged Ford designer did say that the Bronco will get an off-road version to take on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. That fits with Nair's assertion that the Wrangler will be the Bronco's chief competitor. As for a Raptor, that's anyone's guess. Ford is making a Ranger Raptor, but it'll only be sold in Asia-Pacific markets. Ford Performance boss Jamal Hameedi didn't rule out the possibility of a Raptor-ized Everest at the Ranger Raptor's launch, so perhaps there's some hope for the NEW Bronco. It's unclear if Ford will offer a true throwback, two-door Bronco, or solely a four-door, which would surely be a bigger seller. Previously, we heard Ford isn't planning on building a two-door Bronco, but a teaser shared by the automaker makes it seem like a two-door is possible. We do know, though, that it will get a removable roof. So that's encouraging. We've also heard that the NEW Bronco could get solid axles front and rear. Dana, the same company that makes the upgraded axles for the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, said recently that it will supply driveline components for the Bronco and Ranger. Recently, an anonymous Ford source said that the Bronco would look like a four-door version of the Brazilian Troller SUV. The Bronco's base price should be around $30,000, which is about the same as a 2018 Wrangler Unlimited.
It's not yet confirmed, the expectation is the 2020 NEW Bronco will debut at next year's Detroit Auto Show, January, 1919."
From another source: "When we first saw the new Ford Ranger Raptor earlier this year, we hoped it would come to the US. Just look at it jump! It promises to be as cool as the F-150 Raptor, in a smaller and, presumably, more affordable package.
Sadly, the current generation Ranger Raptor won't be sold here.
Ford Performance boss Hermann Salenbauch confirmed to us that the Ranger Raptor you see above is not US bound. Salenbauch told us that the Ranger Raptor wasn't really designed with the US-market in mind, and reworking it for American consumption would be too expensive. We've been theorizin' the Ranger Raptor's twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder would not be feasible in the North American market. The Ranger Raptor will be available in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific market, including Australia and New Zealand. After the US debut of the new Ranger earlier this year, Salenbauch's predecessor, Jamal Hameedi, told me the automaker's strategy for the Raptor nameplate. "To me, the most important thing now is that every human being in the world has access to a Raptor," Hameedi said. "So, if it’s North America, you get an F-150 Raptor; the rest of the world, you get a Ranger Raptor."Ford will offer an FX4 off-road package for the US-bound Ranger, though. This $1300 package comes with an electronically controlled locking rear differential, skid plates, and some of the clever electronic off-road driving aids used on the F-150 Raptor. If you want a more hardcore mid-size off-roader, you'll have to opt for the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 or a Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. Or for around $10,000 more than either of those two, you could just pick up an F-150 Raptor, which has a starting MSRP of $53,000.
There's a chance that Ford might make a Raptor version of the upcoming NEW Bronco, though again, this isn't confirmed.
It might be misguided, but we'll cling to the hope that Ford might want a hardcore Wrangler challenger, one that will be available in the US."
x
UPDATE August 22, 2018
RANGER LINE LAUNCHED AND EXPLAINED
“The key is the Raptor’s chassis. It was the first vehicle where we defined high performance by the chassis, not power. “We chose to make the Raptor an off-road specialist. That’s the key to its success.” Ford's previous performance pickup, the F-150 Lightning, which had a supercharged V8 and boasted about 0-60 times and burnouts, only sold about 2,000 a year. Raptor sales tripled that in their first year, hit 30,000 last year and are still growing.“Performance pickups should always increase the vehicle’s capability, not reduce it,” he said. That philosophy will also apply to Ford’s upcoming performance SUVs. The 2019 Edge ST that goes on sale this fall will be the first SUV to wear one of the automaker’s traditional performance badges, but not the last.The Ford Ranger Raptor was revealed in July 2018. The Ford Ranger Raptor was revealed in July 2018. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) “We want to have capability in mind as we do performance SUVs,” Salenbauch said. “Maybe a little more power, too.” Ford’s performance team includes about 200 engineers around the world, with major offices in Detroit, Europe and Australia. The Australian team developed the new Ranger Raptor, a midsize pickup with outsized capability. As with the bigger F-150 Raptor, Ford concentrated on improving the suspension and all-wheel-drive systems, not power.
The Ranger Raptor has a 2.0L bi-turbo diesel engine that produces just 210 hp, has racing shocks and “Baja” electronics tuned for off-road racing.
Ford builds the Ranger Raptor in Thailand now. Production in South Africa begins early in 2019.“It just flies,” Salenbauch said. “There are huge opportunities for it in markets where we don’t sell the F-150.” That praise holds Ford’s answer to questions about selling a Ranger Raptor in the United States. The sporty midsize was developed specifically for markets where the bigger F-150 Raptor isn’t available. A twin-turbo diesel would be an unusual choice for a U.S. performance vehicle, too, lengthening the odds against a Ranger Raptor here. ST versions of the many new SUV-type vehicles Ford will introduce as it phases out the Focus, Fusion and Taurus sedans in North America are likely, though, along with sporty hybrids."
CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE FORD CALCULATOR
CLICK HERE FOR FACTORY PRICING ANNOUNCEMENT
UPDATE July 28, 2018
LAST UPDATE: April 26, 2018
FORD Announces "Cars" seriously declining in sales:
"What will they sell instead?
Detroit is already strong in pickups and large SUVs, such as the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator, which is enjoying remarkably brisk sales after its first complete redesign in more than a decade. The Big 3 control almost 85 percent of the domestic pickup market, according to LMC Automotive, despite competitive products from foreign brands such as Toyota and Nissan.
And Ford, for example, will also double down on "authentic off-roaders," Ford President of Global Markets Jim Farley said on a conference call Wednesday, after Ford reported first-quarter earnings. This includes trucks like the Raptor, and the upcoming reintroduced Ford Bronco, and an unnamed SUV. GM and Chrysler are entering this segment, too."
UPDATE 12-26-2017
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| Bogus 2020 FORD BRONCO 2-Door Current Renderings |
Baja Racing News LIVE! Your Real Baja Insider
Gary Newsome, Editor
"The truck (FORD Ranger) will be built at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, alongside a NEW version of the Bronco SUV. The Bronco will be revealed at a later date"
January 14, 2018
RANGER LAUNCH (2019) FIRST STEP TOWARD "BRONCO 2020"
""Once declared dead, the midsize pickup truck segment has been reinvigorated over the past few years by new or updated entries from General Motors, Honda, and Toyota. But Ford has been noticeably absent, having axed its Ranger in 2011. But now, finally, the Ranger is back. The 2019 Ford Ranger debuted at this month’s 2018 Detroit Auto Show roughly a year after Ford announced the truck’s return to the United States. Ford has actually sold Ranger models internationally since 2011, but insists the new model unveiled in Detroit was heavily re-engineered for the North American market. On the outside, the Ranger is fairly generic looking. Flared round wheel arches and a grille that vaguely resembles the larger F-150’s are the only real hints at character. Like rival Chevrolet, Ford opted not to just make its midsize truck a mini version of its full-size model. The 2019 Ranger will be offered in Supercab or Supercrew configurations, with rear half doors and four full-size doors, respectively. Ford didn’t offer many details on the powertrain. The Ranger will be offered with a 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, but Ford didn’t quote power output or tow ratings. The EcoBoost engine will be coupled to the same 10-speed automatic transmission used in the F-150, with standard rear-wheel drive or optional four-wheel drive. Given that most competitors offer multiple powertrain options, it’s possible that Ford will add other engines to lineup at a future date. At launch, the Ranger will get an optional FX4 Off-Road Package, including a Terrain Management System derived from the one in the F-150 Raptor. Like similar systems offered by numerous other manufacturers, Ford’s automatically tailors different vehicle settings for different types of terrain. The FX4 package also includes Trail Control, which acts like off-road cruise control by handling steering and braking on rough terrain. There’s no word yet on whether the U.S. will get the Ranger Raptor performance model already teased for international markets. Like larger Ford trucks, the Ranger will be offered with an array of driver-assist features. The list includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring (which works even with a trailer attached), and adaptive cruise control. Tech features include available Amazon Alexa connectivity, a built-in Wi-Fi hot spot, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. The 2019 Ford Ranger will start production at the end of this year. The truck will be built at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, alongside a new version of the Bronco SUV. The Bronco will be revealed at a later date, as will pricing information for the Ranger.""
Original Reporting From October 12, 2016
FORD BRONCO FIRST OFFERED DURING THE 1965 MODEL YEAR
NEW FORD BRONCO TO BE UNLEASHED IN 2020, FIRST ANNOUNCED HERE
FORD HAS RACED THE BRONCO INTO THE RANGER SINCE THE EARLY STROPPE DAYS AND CONTINUE TO RACE THE GREATEST OFF-ROAD EVENT IN THE WORLD TODAY, DAKAR
![[baja+racing+news+.com+1765.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9rDnSildTmmR8_mP74di0IK41Qf-jJaZ35Op2xUcnAuXF1L2H_ZrIaVK4biK3z8yrVnAbX6J738sgC3gU9KfK9KzNW9hDDGWRqLv_ScJsJYSKz-TG8kLx7jJUoXhszBNsOFntQ/s1600/baja+racing+news+.com+1765.jpg)
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| Bogus 2020 FORD BRONCO 4-Door Current Renderings |
In 1965, two early examples of the Bronco were delivered to Long Beach, California, at racecar builder Bill Stroppe's shop, who was a legend for his success fabricating race machines of all types. "Bill Stroppe was very much like the Carroll Shelby of the Bronco world," says Bronco historian Todd Zuercher, who also owns an original Stroppe racing Bronco.
In the mid-1960s, off-road racing was in its infancy. Before most Americans had ever seen a Bronco, Bill Stroppe had won at an off-road race in Riverside, California and campaigned the Bronco in the very first Baja NORRA Mexican 1000 in 1967. But it was when Stroppe teamed up with his old friend, famed driver and veteran Indy 500 racer Parnelli Jones, that Ford began to dominate off-road racing with the Bronco, in Baja Mexico and elsewhere.
"I think the Bronco's stout drivetrain really lent itself to the rigors of off-road racing," says Zuercher. "I'd much rather race down the Baja peninsula in a Bronco than a Jeep CJ-5 just from a ride and handling standpoint." The first Broncos Stroppe built and raced with Jones were nearly stock, but Jones' aggressive driving style was rough on the Broncos and he needed something lighter and faster to withstand the rigors of Baja.
The design changes forced the Big Oly to be born. "The Big Oly" (named for sponsor Olympia Beer) was a pure chrome tube-frame race machine with far more suspension travel than a stock Bronco. Under the hood was a 351 cid V8 with almost 400 horsepower.
The Big Oly Bronco was a radical departure for off-road racing vehicles, and it influenced the direction of the sport for years to come. Stroppe and Jones campaigned the truck from 1970-1974 and took the overall win Baja 1000 in 1971 and 1972.
The Bronco's success in off-road racing inspired Ford to produce around 400 Baja Broncos from 1971-1975, each one painted to match Stroppe's flashy red, white, and blue race team colors.
Today, Baja Broncos are the most desirable of all Bronco models.
More on the racing pedigree of FORD and its OFF-ROAD, downsized, framing, later.
Original reporting post date was 10-6-16, most recent post date now is 6-6-2020.
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