The Ford Bronco Is Back: What You Need To Know About Pioneering SUV's Return

The 3,500 reservation spots for the first run of the revived Ford Motor Company F Bronco have sold out in less than 24 hours.

Bronco Details, Timeline Out After 3-Year Wait: The four-wheel drive SUV was first made from 1965 to 1996 and is being reintroduced for the 2021 model year in two- and four-door editions, as well as a crossover Bronco Sport model.

Ford, which announced the vehicle’s return in 2017, revealed details Monday and began accepting $100 deposits for the off-roaders, which Dearborn said will enter production at its Wayne, Michigan plant in early 2021 and hit dealerships in the spring.

The Ford Escape-based Bronco Sport is expected to reach dealerships in fall 2020.

The Ford website where customers can build their Bronco online was overloaded with traffic at last check Tuesday. The limited-run Bronco First Edition that sold out shortly after being announced is a $60,000 top-of-the-line SUV.

The Bronco’s Enduring Popularity, Notoriety: The 2021 Bronco launch has likely drawn more interest than any other in Ford’s history, COO Jim Farley told Fox Autos.

“We think it’s a great time to get back into the very authentic off-road vehicle segments. [It’s] a segment that we did really well [with] in the 60s, 70s and 80s,” he told Fox.

The vehicle launch represents a challenge from Ford that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s FCAU Jeep Wrangler hasn’t faced in nearly a quarter century.

The Bronco was known in the 1960s for competing in racing events like the Mint 400 and Baja 500.

It later gained a different kind of publicity when retired NFL star O.J. Simpson hid in the back of a white 1993 Bronco driven by Al Cowlings during a nationally televised, low-speed, 60-mile police chase on June 17, 1994 before Simpson surrendered to authorities. 

At the time, Simpson was charged in the murders five days prior of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted on two counts of murder at a criminal trial.

Simpson was later found responsible for Brown Simpson and Goldman’s deaths in a civil wrongful death lawsuit that ended in a $33.5-million award for the murder victims’ families.

The vehicle’s ties to the Simpson case returned to the headlines this year when, in what the automaker said was a coincidence, Ford originally scheduled the Bronco reveal for July 9 — Simpson’s 73rd birthday — before moving it to July 13.

Under The 2021 Bronco’s Hood: The Broncos have a base price of $29,995 and come with either base or advanced four-wheel drive, with up to seven driver-selectable modes and the choice of seven-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmissions.

The Broncos are powered by either a 2.7-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine putting out 310 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque or a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost with 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque.

The truck has segment-leading off-road capability, according to Ford, with a best-in-class 11.6 inches of ground clearance, a maximum breakover angle of 29-degrees, a 37.2-degree departure angle and the potential to ford 33.5 inches of water.

The classic two-door model has a three-section roof that is removable using interior latches.

F Price Action: Ford shares were trading 3.87% higher at $6.30 at the time of publication Tuesday. 

Photo courtesy of Ford.