How about some good news and bad news? First the bad news—in a press release today Ford confirmed it won't be officially be revealing the much anticipated 2021 Ford Bronco until the spring of next year at an unspecified debut event. The good mews—in the meantime we've gotten a fairly big hint at what the new Bronco will look like in the form of a new race-inspired prototype.
Dubbed the Bronco R, the race-ready prototype was built to pay homage to the original Bronco that Rod Hall and Larry Minor won the 1969 Baja 1000 in. And the new version will run in the 2019 Baja 1000 with Rod's granddaughter Shelby Hall taking the wheel during portions of the race.
As for the rig itself, Ford says the prototype was built both to pay tribute to the first generation Bronco and to specifically hint at the shape of the new Bronco, although how similar they are remains to be seen.
Few details were released about the Bronco R's mechanicals, although Ford did confirm that it is built on a modified version of the T6 midsize platform that will underpin the production Bronco and that the "twin turbos of the EcoBoost engine are representative of what the production Bronco will offer."
At the very least, it's nice to hear that the Bronco will at least have a twin turbocharged engine option that make more power and torque than the 2.3 liter EcoBoost engine that powers the American market Ranger.
So while we don't know how much this purpose-built race machine and the production 2021 Bronco will share, but as we continue to wait for the official debut we at least know a little more than we did yesterday.
And, if you'd like to read more speculation about what to expect from the new Bronco you can check out our preview story right here.