Its name literally revealed in steel by virtue of a leaked tailgate image last week, more alleged details of Ford’s spiritual successor to the Bantam, the Maverick, cropped up online this past weekend.
According to the thedrive.com, the specifics comes from the maverickchat.com online forum via a user called ‘One Long Day’, who posted seven bullet points relating to the Maverick mere minutes after joining the site, a move which itself has been touted as anything but coincidental.
Based on the user’s claims, the Maverick, which will ride on the same unibody C2 platform as the Focus and Bronco Sport, will initially be offered only with four doors and measure between 610 to 762 mm shorter than the Ranger in overall length depending on the configuration. It will therefore have a shorter loadbed and allegedly have more common with the North American-spec Transit Connect.
Surprisingly, the source alleges that the Maverick’s ties with the van will include the same engine, a normally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol that punches out 118kW/198Nm. Standing in complete contrast with the EcoBoost engines used in the Focus and Bronco Sport, the user further states that a manual gearbox would feature, a claim that should not be taken literally as a three-pedal layout is not offered on the Transit or the Bronco Sport, and only on the Focus sold in Europe.
What is however known is that production will take place at the Hermosillo Plant in Mexico alongside the Bronco Sport, with styling from the latter set to be a strong influence. For the time being, the Maverick, a name last used in the States for a compact sedan and coupe in 1977, will be a North American market only model, but expect this to possibly change with the uncovering of more details in the coming weeks and months.
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