Is the Bronco Warthog Going to Be the Next Hybrid PowerBoost Ford?
Industry experts speculate that the upcoming performance off-roader might be hiding an electrified drivetrain and we agree!
It’s true – we prick up our ears at any update related to the 2021 Ford Bronco. Earlier last month, we reported on the possible sighting of a 2023 Bronco Warthog prototype. Now, multiple industry sources are speculating that Ford is developing Bronco Warthog as a hybrid PowerBoost model.
This might not surprise regular readers. It’s clear that Ford has big plans for its Bronco nameplate. The company has already introduced multiple versions of the Bronco, including a Baja-inspired race truck.
After recent spy shots of yet another Bronco prototype surfaced online, industry experts quickly speculated that the upcoming performance off-roader might be hiding an electrified drivetrain. The rumors cropped up after experts noticed elements like a single-exhaust tailpipe. On closer inspection, we also found that the front-end of the SUV also featured a brightly colored bundle of cables.
As automotive website Ford Authority points out, “So far, we’ve spied Ford Bronco Warthog prototypes with and without these high voltage cables, and both also utilize different exhaust tips – the hybrid prototypes have a single exhaust with a single exhaust outlet, while non-hybrid prototypes have a single exhaust with dual tips.”
In the past, Ford has used such bright orange harnesses for the high-Voltage (HV) cables that usually run its PowerBoost drivetrains. Skeptics have also pointed out that Ford might be using the exposed cables for recording data from the ongoing road-tests but the single tip exhaust system strongly indicates the possibility of a hybrid Bronco Warthog.
In its report, Motor1 pointed out,” we’d be remiss if we didn’t consider other possibilities, such as the cable bundle simply being used for onboard data acquisition and testing. We certainly see such things all the time”
We recently reported on the team at Ricart Ford taking delivery of the very first 2021 Bronco Wildtrak model. The Wildtrak edition is powered by a 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine, which is mated to a 10-speed SelectShift automatic gearbox. Right now, we do not have any information about the kind of hybrid powertrain Ford might offer in the Bronco Warthog.
Considering the displacement of the EcoBoost powertrain in the Wildtrak edition, it will not be unreasonable to assume that an electrified 3-liter V6 powerplant might propel the upcoming SUV. The standard Bronco Warthog will most probably share its powertrain with the company’s Explorer ST model, which will produce around 400 horsepower.
The hybrid version might share its powerplant with Ford’s 3-liter hybrid V6 that is found in the Lincoln aviator where it produces 494 HP of power. This will allow the Bronco Warthog to compete against the most capable variant of its archrival, the 470 HP Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392.
Image Source: Ford
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