Bronco Weekly #15

“No RHD Bronco!”

It's kind of ironic that Ford is officially declaring that it won't produce a right-hand-drive version of the 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport. After all, the Bronco's chassis architecture was partially designed in Australia, and the land down under is consistently one of Ford’s best markets, especially for off-road vehicles and mid-size pickups.

Even so, Ford is clear that they will not invest in RHD Broncos, at least for the time being. This means that off-road fans in all the right-hand-drive countries (Australia, UK, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa…) can forget about owning a new Bronco.

Interestingly, Ford at one time did offer a Bronco in RHD spec. From 1981 to 1987, Ford assembled and sold the Bronco in Australia with right-hand-drive. The Australian market was always important to Ford, and among a variety of locally-developed automotive models, the Bronco was offered as the biggest and most capable available off-roader. Powered by either a 4.1-liter straight-six or 5.8-liter V8, it was very competitive and was directly pitted against the Range Rover in the local market.

During a six year production run, Ford Australia made and sold over 10,000 examples.

2021 Bronco Sport Aces Crash Tests

Although many people call the Bronco Sport a “baby Bronco,” magazine testing has shown that it's as capable as its bigger brother in some respects.

The Independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety demonstrated that the Bronco Sport is as safe as the larger Bronco, as it garnered a perfect, Top Pick + crash score during recent testing. This is immensely important, since safety is always one of the most pressing concerns with every new model, and Ford invested a lot of time and effort into making the Bronco Sport the safest model in its class.

The Bronco Sport aced a variety of crash tests, with surprisingly good pedestrian safety results, as well. Good to know that the best compact SUV is also the safest, and it's no wonder that Ford has already sold more than 30,000 of them.

The Bronco Will Get Pre-Wiring and Switches For Easy Customization

Ford is well-aware that many Broncos are likely to be customized as soon as they leave the showroom floor. The number of aftermarket components to be offered from Ford itself, as well as various aftermarket companies (such as us) , is already impressive, with much more to come.

That's why Ford designed the vehicle to be easy to customize. One of the cool details is the pre-wiring and uplift switches that are already installed on the 2021 Bronco. 

Among the most common aftermarket modifications is the addition of light bars or electrical equipment. Ford will equip the Bronco with six uplift switches you can use for your additional components. However, switches are of little use on their own -- wiring is crucial -- and Ford did that for you with pre-wiring and factory-installed connection points throughout the vehicle, which is super convenient.

LEGO Will Make Bronco R As Part of Speed Champions Set

Up to now, if you wanted to get your hands on the new 2021 Bronco, you had several options. One would be to pay over $1 million at the Barrett-Jackson auction, and the other is to find a 1:64 scale model built by Hot Wheels or a 1:24-scale model made by Maisto.

Now, there is a new way of owning an even more rare, racing-spec Bronco R -- albeit in miniaturized form. The famous LEGO company will release a very compelling duo, the Bronco R and Ford GT, as a part of their Speed Champions set. Even though we're still waiting on the full LEGO model with working suspension and several hundred parts, this is a good start, and we've already pre-ordered ours.

Exact HP and Torque Ratings For The 2021 Bronco

The information about the 2021 Bronco’s engine options has been released for some time, and Ford just recently officially confirmed the specs while releasing more info on the engines' performance using premium fuel. It looks like shelling out for more expensive fuel will reward you with noticeably more power and torque. Here are the specs:

2.3-liter 4-cylinder

275 hp and 310 lb-ft (regular fuel)

300 hp and 325 lb-ft (premium fuel)

2.7-liter V6

315 hp and 410 lb-ft (regular fuel)

330 hp and 415 lb-ft (premium fuel)