Shortly after pulling the cover off of the new sixth-generation Bronco a couple of years back, Ford also revealed a ruggedized high-performance race-spec version of the 4×4 to compete in the infamous Baja 1000. Fast forward to today and the Michigan marque’s competition program has taken lessons from its desert race efforts to deliver a limited production off-road race-grade version of the SUV known as Bronco DR — presumably short for “Desert Racer.”
Weighing only 6,200lbs, the competition-grade machine has been outfitted with a slew of high-end race componentry including Multimatic Positional Selective DSSV dampers. Engineered to take on the harsh and unrelenting conditions of the Baja peninsula, the Bronco DR features a 73.7″ front track (and a 73.3″ rear track) and affords 47 degrees of approach angle, 37 degrees of departure, and 33 degrees of breakover. Riding on Beadlock wheels wrapped in 37″ BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 all-terrain tires, the Bronco DR also comes cloaked in resin transfer-molded fiberglass bodywork that’s adorned in a Ford Performance livery. Inside, the fully-gutted race-spec interior features a Multimatic FEA-optimized full safety cage with integrated OE ACCRA tubes, a pair of Sparco race seats, and a top-shelf Motec C187 display and CAN data acquisition system — the latter of which boasts optional cloud-based data access. At the heart of the desert racer is a 5.0L Ford Coyote V8 engine that puts down well over 400hp and is paired with a 10R80 transmission and independent electronically locking front and rear differentials.
The prototype Bronco DR racer is slated to make its competition debut at the 2022 Baja 1000. Following the race, the first 50 units of the 2023 Ford Bronco DR are expected to be available beginning in Q4 of 2022, with pricing starting from around $250,000 and increasing from there, depending on options.
