Ford wants to rely on well-established names to sell the yet-to-be unveiled high-performance version of the Bronco not new brands. Until recently, the best guess at the trim name of the upcoming high-performance Bronco was “Warthog.” A new report from Ford Authority cites insider sources at Ford who say that top brass doesn’t want to rely on a name that will have to build brand recognition.
That will likely mean picking a name that
is more familiar and may reignite early rumors that suggested that the Bronco
would borrow the Ford trucks’ Raptor moniker. Although we still don’t know what
the SUV will be called, the automaker has had success so far with using
established names like Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning.
The suggestion that Ford would use the
Warthog name was popularized last autumn when a trademark filed by Ford was
discovered. Unfortunately, details on the high-performance Bronco are still
limited. Ford appears to have confirmed the variant in September, though, with
a Tweet that showed the SUV getting some air (something that raptors are fond
of doing).
What will go under the hood is a bit of a
mystery, too. Comments from Eric Loefller, the Bronco‘s chief engineer, seem to
suggest, though, that a V8 is too big and too thirsty to work in the SUV. Some
report that a 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 might be the ticket. Horsepower numbers of
400 and torque numbers of 415 lb-ft have been suggested, but no official
figures have been released.
All will hopefully be revealed when the
high-performance Bronco is fully unveiled in the second half of 2022.
