The 2021 Ford Bronco has just arrived, and by virtually all accounts it's a massive hit. Ford might have more in store for the Bronco, though. A lot more.
A hybrid powertrain is a good bet. And we've also spied a high-performance model possibly carrying the Warthog name testing as a prototype. Now there's talk of a pickup body style, too.
A member of the Bronco6G forum spotted official design sketches for a Bronco pickup in a video released by Ford last November. The sketches appear at the 1:58 mark and show the Bronco with an open rear and tailgate that flips down.
Ford hasn't confirmed plans for a Bronco pickup, and one of the designers in the video states that the sketches are for brainstorming, describing them as “really loose and general.”
However, citing sources close to the project, Automobile reported last summer that a Bronco pickup is locked in but the arrival is only pegged for mid-2024, possibly so that it doesn't clash with a redesigned Ranger pickup which debuts later this year (the new Ranger and Bronco are platform-mates). A mid-2024 launch for the Bronco pickup would mean a 2025 model year arrival, though Automobile's sources said Ford could move the date forward, possibly as early as 2022.
The chief target would be the Jeep Gladiator, naturally, so expect any Bronco pickup to borrow the Bronco SUV's four-door body style. Sticking with four doors would also make the Bronco pickup a spiritual successor to the Ford Explorer SportTrac from the early 2000s. But what about the Ranger? The Bronco pickup would be aimed more at the lifestyle market, leaving the Ranger, which in next-generation form will use the same updated T6 platform found in the Bronco, to target commercial buyers.
Any Bronco pickup is likely to share powertrains with the Bronco SUV. This means the choice of a 2.3-liter turbocharged inline-4 or a 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 in standard guise, and likely a high-performance V-6 in the aforementioned Warthog model.
How much might one expect to pay for the Bronco pickup? Right now the Bronco SUV is priced to start from $29,995, including destination. We'd expect the Bronco pickup to come in at a similar price point to the Gladiator which starts at about $35,000.
