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Ford Demoing Bronco at Chicago Auto Show with Built Wild Experience
Photo: Ford
This week marks the kickoff of the 2021 Chicago Auto Show, the first auto show to take place in the United States since the start of the pandemic. Ford’s promising quite the showcase, offering the public the chance to check out the all-electric F-150 Lightning and Maverick in the flesh (or steel/glass/rubber/etc.). But the highlight by far should be the Built Wild Bronco mountain experience, showing off a bit of what the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport can do.
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The Built Wild Bronco mountain experience covers 30,000 square feet and was designed by Vaughn Gittin Jr. You’ll be able to find this expansive off-road course outside of McCormick Place, but the real treat is getting the chance to go for a ride.
Among the highlights of the obstacle course is the titular mountain, which boasts a steep 38-degree grade. You’ll also be able to test the impressive water-fording abilities of the Bronco Sport Badlands, which can trudge through up to 23.6 inches of water.
Suzy Deering, Ford Motor Company’s global chief marketing officer, tells Automotive News that the Built Wild Bronco mountain experience is informed by driver feedback. Ford and Gittin Jr. molded the course to showcase the best of what the Bronco and first-ever Bronco Sport can do, using lessons learned from hands-on off-road customer experiences.
“We don’t want to just put cars out there on the carpet,” Deering told Auto News. “We really wanted to bring them to life in a very different way.”
Bronco looks to overshadow Jeep Camp at Chicago Auto Show
Photo: Ford
The Built Wild Bronco mountain experience doesn’t just serve the goal of showing off the Bronco and Bronco Sport to potential buyers. It also aids in Ford’s secondary goal of stomping on Jeep. The Camp Jeep off-road experience has been a staple at Chicago for years, and Ford positioning its answer to that experience right out front of McCormick Place should help steal quite a bit of its thunder.
Speaking of thunder, Ford will show off its F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit at its Built to Electrify display, which will also be outside McCormick Place. Inside the show, the Ford booth will showcase the F-150 Lightning, 2022 Maverick, and other new vehicles.
The 2021 Chicago Auto Show opens to the public Thursday and runs through Monday.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.