Bucking pig? Email suggests off-road focused Ford Bronco will indeed be Warthog

The uncovering of an internal email has allegedly silenced rumours of the nomenclature the forthcoming off-road focused Ford Bronco will use in the United States.

According to a post by a member of the Bronco6G online forum, the email, send by Wisconsin-based engineering firm, Axis Automation, makes reference to not only the all-electric F-150, but also the Bronco Warthog.

First mentioned back in September following the discovery of a trademark submission by MotorTrend, the Bronco Warthog will allegedly rate as more of an extreme off-roader aimed at traversing difficult surfaces where speed is not a priority. In contrast to the bird-of-prey Raptor designation, which blends speed with off-road ability in the F-150 and Ranger, the Warthog is poised to build on the off-road Sasquatch package and feature different suspension, 37-inch all-terrain tyres and model bespoke exterior and interior trim pieces.

With the Blue Oval having ruled the option of a V8 engine out, three options have already been mulled; a more powerful version of the current range-topping 2.7 EcoBoost V6, the 298 kW twin-turbocharged 3.0 EcoBoost V6 from the Explorer ST and a detuned version of the soon-to-be-outgoing F-150 Raptor’s 335 kW twin-blown 3.5 EcoBoost V6.

Already seen on several online platforms undergoing testing, including the latest by motor1.com, the Bronco Warthog, its name still to be confirmed outright by Dearborn, is slated to debut next year and not in 2023 as initially claimed. Sadly, Ford South Africa, on the side-lines of the recent Ranger XL Sport launch, reaffirmed to The Citizen that the Bronco won’t be coming to market soon due to the lack of right-hand-drive capability despite it being possible to execute, plus the enormous backlog experienced in the States in spite of production having not even started.

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