The sixth-generation Ford Bronco launched in 2020 for the 2021 model year, but the iconic SUV’s return was a quarter-century in the making. The Blue Oval created multiple “new” Bronco concepts in the time between the fifth-gen’s discontinuation following the 1996 model year and the revived sixth-gen’s launch, but as it turns out, the automaker was also planning to build the Ford Bronco Raptor before that happened as well.
“In terms of how far, we started strategizing about this before Bronco was launched,” Ford Bronco Raptor Chief Engineer, Aerie Groeneveld, told
Ford Authority Executive Editor, Alex Luft, in a recent interview. “So we saw the capability of the base Bronco and we knew that we could actually add Raptor DNA on this.”
What makes this revelation all the more interesting is the fact that Ford fooled virtually everyone into thinking that the Bronco Raptor would be called the Ford Bronco Warthog after filing to trademark “Warthog” back in September of 2020. Just a few days later,
Ford Authority spies spotted a Bronco prototype with “Warthog” written on a camouflaged panel inside the wheel well, seemingly confirming this fact. However, as
Ford Authority reported back in May, Warthog was actually the code name for the Bronco Raptor project.
Naming this high-performance off-road SUV the Bronco Raptor makes quite a bit more sense than Warthog since it fits in Ford’s lineup alongside the similarly upgraded Ford Ranger Raptor and Ford F-150 Raptor. Officially revealed back in January, the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor comes equipped with the twin-turbocharged Ford 3.0L V6 EcoBoost engine – a detail
Ford Authority was the first to report back in June of 2020 – which produces 418 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque.
Like its Raptor brethren, the Bronco version is also equipped with a host of suspension upgrades that make it even more capable than the regular Bronco off-road, including Fox’s 3.1 Internal Bypass Semi-Active Dampers, upgraded Dana differentials, beefier half shafts and tie-rods, and Ford Performance-developed front and rear control arms.
