New Ford Bronco RTR is ready to rock (crawl)
Budget Braptor gets new suspension, tweaked Ecoboost, 33-inch tyres - and 'signature RTR attitude'
There’d surely be a space in all our dream garages for a Ford Bronco Raptor. It simply looks too cool and promises too much fun to ignore. But all that entertainment comes at a cost: you won’t get much change from $100,000 for the V6 rally raid wannabe with a few must-have options. A bit like the Mustang actually, there’s the model you want and the model you can afford, with rather more between them - in terms of price, speed and fun - than is really desirable.
However, just like its pony car sibling, there’s now a Bronco RTR to bridge the gap from four-cylinder entry point to epic flagship. Once again it’s had input from drift superstar Vaughn Gittin Jr, plus this time Loren Healy, champion of Ultra4Racing five times. So he knows what he’s doing when it comes to making a good 4x4.
For the RTR, that means ‘high clearance suspension’ and 33-inch off-road tyres as standard, a combination that’s never been offered before on regular Broncos and is said to provide ‘off-road capability that’s distinct from other members of the Bronco family’. While the 2.3 Ecoboost is largely unchanged, it does benefit from a burly 1,000-watt fan to keep it cool in the desert, plus an anti-lag style software tweak to keep the turbo spinning. Much as the tech aimed to benefit a drift-ready Mustang, the idea is to provide ‘instant thrust needed when powering out of a soft sand wash and can't afford to wait for the turbo to spool up.’ Nothing if not fit for purpose, then.
Those with even grander off-road ambitions (and a bit more budget) will be offered a Sasquatch package, which brings HOSS 3.0 suspension that employs Fox dampers. Whether buyers go for that or not, all these Broncos get the trademark RTR grille, the arch extensions and the unique wheels. The graphics and Hyper Lime accents aren’t mandatory, though if you’re opting for an RTR spec it would only seem right to go the whole hog. “You can automatically see the attitude of the vehicle is very capable”, said Healy. “You know it’s going to be an absolute blast to drive before you even get behind the wheel.” Gotta have the graphics, basically.
Other than that, the Bronco isn’t very much different; throwing in fancy seats or a tonne of accessories would push the price up. As RTR puts it, this car is ‘about democratising high-speed performance’ - the higher the RRP, the less that becomes applicable. Given the most expensive four-cylinder Bronco is currently the $55,000 Heritage, somewhere around $60,000 - or £45k at currency exchange rates - would surely see a lot of interest in the RTR.
“Bronco has great racing heritage to take inspiration from, and Raptor has blazed a trail in high-speed off-roading that customers love. We kept those things in mind with Bronco RTR,” Healy said. “But we know that some performance enthusiasts can’t necessarily afford a Bronco Raptor. That was our brief developing Bronco RTR: Find a sweet spot for high-speed off-road performance and make it a great value for thrill-seeking Bronco owners. It sits in a really unique place in the Bronco lineup.” Yes, that lineup is only in the US, but the existence of cool fast Fords somewhere is better than not at all. Plus, of course, people have imported umpteen special Mustangs over the years - what’s to stop them doing the same with Broncos?
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