“We know that some performance enthusiasts can’t necessarily afford a Bronco Raptor,” said Loren Healy. “That was our brief developing Bronco RTR: Find a sweet spot for high-speed off-road performance and make it great value for thrill-seeking Bronco owners.”
Healy is a two-time King of the Hammers champion, which goes some way to explain the spec of this rather delectable new Blue Oval: It’s the Ford Bronco RTR, developed by Healy and RTR founder/drift enthusiast Vaughn Gittin Jr. And as you can see, it wild.
RTR has beefed up the steering to deal with abuse, and fitted new ‘high-clearance’ suspension (shocks that go bouncy bouncy) and socking great 33in tyres—“a combination we’ve never offered on a Bronco before”—along with a few choice mods to the engine.
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A 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which of course appears in the Bronco’s base spec. Why no V6? “Weight,” explains Ford. “In the dunes, a lighter front end makes the Bronco more flickable.”
That engine has been treated to the same 1,000-watt cooling fan that sits inside the RTR’s Bronco Raptor sibling, and also gets Ford’s anti-lag system to keep the turbo spinning when you’re off the throttle, to give “instant thrust.”
Want a Bronco that’ll handle even more thrust? There’s the Sasquatch pack that upgrades those tyres to 35-inch Goodyear rubber, and upgrades the bouncy bouncy to a HOSS 3.0 setup with Fox internal bypass shocks. Similar to the ones on the F-150 Raptor, says Ford. That’s big boi stuff.
So, it’ll jump, it’ll bounce, it’ll grip, and it’ll ‘thrust.’ And it’ll look...fresh, too. RTR has applied ‘hyper lime’ accents, new wheels, ‘heritage-inspired’ wheel arches, a new front grille, and a special shade of gray shared with the Mustang RTR.
It’ll make its real-world debut at the King of the Hammers in Johnson Valley—where it was tested—in February, though you’ll have to wait a while if you want one. Ford said it’ll be available to order in October, ready for January 2027.
More photos of the Ford Bronco RTR:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
