Ford Shows off Its Bronco R Design Sketches

Developmental Project

On the heels of a highly successful 2021 Ford Bronco release last month, the Blue Oval has been focusing its efforts on the Bronco R lately. The racing version of its rugged off-roader is set to return to Baja 1000 this November, where it will make its second attempt at completing the grueling race. But recently, Ford also shared a ton of info on the fascinating development process of the Bronco R, including some very cool early sketches of the SUV.

Photos: Ford

Production Features

Interestingly, the Bronco R was developed in total secrecy. This was largely due to the fact that the racing version of the Bronco shares many design and mechanical features with its production counterpart, including its 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6, 10-speed transmission, ESOF 4×4 transfer case, and Baja G.O.A.T. mode.

Photos: Ford

>>Join the conversation about these Bronco R sketches right here in Ford-trucks.com.

Hidden in Plain Sight

All this time, it appears that the Bronco R was hiding many production Bronco features in plain sight. And Ford did such a good job of hiding those that nobody ever really caught on. Regardless, the short developmental process of the R is a pretty interesting story all in itself.

Photos: Ford

>>Join the conversation about these Bronco R sketches right here in Ford-trucks.com.

Monumental Effort

The R was developed in just three short months, in a secret bunker located in one of Ford's design studios. It was conceived by a small team, led by Bronco chief designer Paul Wraith. To pull of this daunting feat, the team used a host of new and agile processes to help speed things up.

Photos: Ford

>>Join the conversation about these Bronco R sketches right here in Ford-trucks.com.

Keep Moving

The team used a host of interesting techniques in the design process, including Styrofoam prototypes, virtual reality, polygon modeling, and role-playing. This allowed them to move quickly through the process and tackle any issues they ran into without allowing them to slow it down as much as they might have under normal circumstances.

Photos: Ford

>>Join the conversation about these Bronco R sketches right here in Ford-trucks.com.

Stretched Thin

"This wasn’t our usual development process, but it was the right process for this project," Wraith said of the Bronco R's development. "We found, created, or adapted the right tool for the task at hand – a cool and exciting blend of old and creative new techniques. We stretched ourselves, but it was worth it – and great fun."

Photos: Ford

>>Join the conversation about these Bronco R sketches right here in Ford-trucks.com.

Impressive Effort

The Bronco R didn't finish the Baja 1000 last year after it was run into by another truck and after overheating through a severely muddy stretch. But the fact that it made it as far as it did, knowing how quickly it was put together, makes that effort all the more impressive.

Photos: Ford