The Bronco DR prototype will make its race debut in 2022 and is targeting entry in the 2022 SCORE Baja 1000, wearing Ford Performance livery in tribute to its historic Baja 1000 victory. The first 50 units of 2023 Bronco DR will be available for sale in late 2022 with a lofty base price in the mid-$200,000 range!
It lives to dominate
Live from Las Vegas, Ford has just pulled the proverbial covers off of the Bronco DR (Desert Racer), the factory-made racer that aims to be the most powerful production Bronco thus far. This Ford Performance creation was factory built with Multimatic suspension, technology, and craftsmanship to not only run but dominate in the unforgiving SCORE Baja 1000. Taking the 2022 Bronco four-door frame and adding unique body and chassis modifications along with a 5.0 liter Coyote V8 for high-stakes dune jumping action.
Passion for performance
“Bronco DR exists to give hardcore off-road enthusiasts a Built Wild, turnkey 4x4 to compete in desert racing events, including the unforgiving Baja 1000,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director. “It started with the Bronco four-door – the platform and chassis are production true, and then we modified and optimized every aspect and built the vehicle hardcore off-road enthusiasts want.”
>>Join the conversation about the V8 Bronco Desert Racer right here in the forum.
Coyote & Bronco
“Bronco DR is our ultimate turnkey off-road racing SUV, engineered to put enthusiasts behind the wheel of a desert racing force,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's chief product platform, and operations officer. “This collaboration between Ford Performance and Multimatic continues the Bronco desert racing legacy that dates back to Rod Hall and Larry Minor’s never-repeated overall Baja 1000 win in a stock Bronco in 1969.”
>>Join the conversation about the V8 Bronco Desert Racer right here in the forum.
Fully loaded
More specs on this build will be shared closer to the on-sale date of these turnkey racer, but the Bronco DR comes with a very long laundry list of parts. Longtime Ford Performance collaborator Multimatic has enhanced the Bronco brand-exclusive High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (H.O.S.S.) system, adding Positional Selective DSSV Dampers with 80-millimeter bodies with finned fluid cooling channels, as well as Multimatic-designed billet aluminum lower control arms. Compared to a four-door Badlands™ series Bronco, Bronco DR is targeting 55.1% more front suspension travel, at 15.8 inches, and 58.6% more at the rear, 17.4 inches, for confident capability over nearly any terrain.
>>Join the conversation about the V8 Bronco Desert Racer right here in the forum.
Everything needed for winning
The Bronco DR will have an approach angle of 47 degrees, a departure angle of 37 degrees, and a break-over angle of 33 degrees to deal with even the nastiest of what nature has to over offroad. The Bronco DR rides on 37-inch BFGoodrich® Mud-Terrain T/A® KM3 all-season tires (37x12.5R17) and Beadlock wheels. The Baja-winning tires feature an advanced Krawl-TEK compound for improved grip on rock and slick surfaces, while a Linear Flex Zone provides better grip in aired-down driving situations.
>>Join the conversation about the V8 Bronco Desert Racer right here in the forum.
Please make more of these!
“It’s not just a Bronco with some stripes on it,” said Paul Wraith, Bronco chief designer. “We were inspired by extreme rally cars, and then went all in. For this skunkworks project, the Bronco team quickly found a theme and developed CAD with heavy use of virtual tools. This is an off-road racing vehicle built out of a production vehicle. We’re so happy to have been involved.”
“This is a ground-up build, which is a bit unique in itself,” said Rushbrook. “At the heart of what we did here was capture the enthusiasm surrounding Bronco, and then build on it by creating a desert racer that is competition-ready coming out of the factory – something Ford has never done before.”
>>Join the conversation about the V8 Bronco Desert Racer right here in the forum.
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