No V8 Option for Bronco, Ford Reps Confirm
Photo: Ford
Speculation is running rampant about a higher-powered version of the newly revealed Ford Bronco. Whether it’s called the Bronco Raptor or the Bronco Warthog or the Bronco Big Strong, one thing is certain: It won’t get the legendary 5.0-liter V8 or any other V8 engine for that matter.
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Ford Bronco Chief Engineer Eric Loefller spoke with Muscle Car & Trucks earlier this month and put a pretty definitive kibosh on the idea of a Bronco V8. The culprit: emissions standards.
“We have to manage the CO2 implications of the product. The way the federal requirements are now, it’s all shadow area (carbon footprint) based,” Loefller said. “If you look at the shadow area of a small off-road vehicle, it has a pretty high target from a government perspective in terms of CO2.”
Ford Bronco focuses on power, not cylinder number
Loefller notes that Bronco customers want results and don’t care so much about the number of cylinders. As such, he doesn’t anticipate that there will be much demand for a Bronco V8 so long as the output hits the spot. This means an amped-up Bronco Raptor/Warthog would be more likely to get the Explorer ST’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6, which puts out 400 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque.
Ford is also set to launch a hybrid version of the Bronco, which would compete against the recently revealed Jeep Wrangler 4xe. MC&T notes that the Bronco hybrid would likely take the robust 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 and pair it with an electric motor, increasing output and efficiency.
As it stands, Ford Global Program Manager Jeff Seaman thinks Bronco enthusiasts will have plenty to love with the 2021 Bronco’s available V6.
“In all honesty, that EcoBoost motor is damn good and when you get out of it you don’t say, ‘I wish I had a bigger engine.’”
Ford’s banking on the Bronco hitting all the right notes in its current iteration, and the response bears out its success. Over 165,000 people paid $100 to reserve their Bronco or Bronco Sport within weeks of its reveal, making the revamped outdoor brand a runaway hit straight out the gate.
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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.