Stock Broncos Take on Rubicon Trail and Wins
Pre-production Broncos head out to one of the national's toughest trails and survive with little more than bumps and bruises.
Tackling Tough Terrain
Ford hasn't exactly made it a secret that its gunning for the Jeep Wrangler with the new 2021 Ford Bronco. And to prove that point, it recently took a handful of pre-production models to the famed Rubicon Trail for testing purposes. The Broncos, though in basically stock form (they are pre-production models, after all), impressively managed to finish the notoriously tough route with little more than some bumps and bruises. Thankfully, members of various outlets were there to snap some pictures of the action.
Photos: Motor1
Bronco Trio
There were three Broncos on-site for the adventure - a two-door Badlands with 33" BFGoodrich all-terrain tires and Ford Performance steel modular front bumper, a four-door Badlands with the Sasquatch package, and a four-door Badlands with the seven-speed manual transmission and 33" Goodyear MT tires.
Photos: Motor1
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Jeep Country
What makes this outing particularly notable, other than the fact that these stock vehicles managed to get through it, is the fact that the Rubicon Trail is a special place for Jeep. After all, their most capable Wrangler model bears its name, and the Rubicon is the origin of the "Trail Rated" badge that its vehicles wear.
Photos: Motor1
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Battle Scars
Needless to say, the trio of Broncos proved that they're quite capable of tackling just about anything out there, even without the benefit of a bunch of aftermarket upgrades. All three seemingly survived the mission intact as well, albeit with some battle scars.
Photos: Motor1
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Bumps and Bruises
Some images captured of the Broncos sitting at a nearby hotel after their excursion reveal some damage, including scratches on the skid plates and around the body, as well as a few dents. Nothing that really comes as a surprise, however.
Photos: Motor1
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No Breakage
The important takeaway is that none of these Broncos suffered any major mechanical failure or broke down in the middle of the trail. And that's extremely impressive for a vehicle that's in the final stages of development, but not quite ready for prime time.
Photos: Motor1
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Back to the Drawing Board
Thus, it's pretty clear that Jeep should be more than a little worried about the Bronco. The new 'ute was already on fire, with 150,000+ reservations placed in the first two weeks or so after its debut. But if it also proves to be an equal or superior off-road machine to the Wrangler, it could be back to the drawing board for Jeep.
Photos: Motor1
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