With the official debut of the 2021 Ford Bronco less than one week away – as indicated by the license plate on this image that denotes July 13, 2020 – the Blue Oval has released partial images of the Bronco’s rear end in a lower view on the official Bronco Instagram page, following an earlier set of leaked images that shows a side view and a rear three-quarters view of the off-roader in a development facility.
The partial view of the Bronco’s rear end shows a tailgate-mounted full-size spare wheel, which is accommodated on the vehicle with a recessed section designed into the Bronco’s rear bumper. The exhaust pipe has been tucked away behind the rear bumper as is common practice on pick-up trucks, while also visible here are the tow hook and parts of the rear suspension assembly.
Sharing its T6 platform with the Ford Ranger pick-up truck, the Bronco is expected to launch in the United States market with the brand’s current 2.3 litre EcoBoost turbocharged inline-four petrol engine, and mated with a 10-speed automatic gearbox. Meanwhile, a seven-speed manual that includes a low-speed crawl ratio is are said to also feature in the Bronco line-up.
The US market Bronco is also expected to offer buyers the choice of a 2.7 litre EcoBoost Nano V6 turbo petrol engine, Australian website Car Expert reported its sources as saying, to be shared with the next-generation Ranger Raptor.
Citing a screen image of a Ford database, the report suggests that the V6 petrol Bronco will follow the Ranger Raptor in using the 10-speed auto AWD layout instead of the traditional, switchable 4WD driveline. The 2.7 litre EcoBoost Nano V6 petrol engine is tipped for inclusion in the Bronco line-up as Ford will likely want to maximise economies of scale for the engine across both T6-based models, the Australian report said.
The Bronco, along with the latest-generation F-150, has been discovered in an investor presentation slide to be marked with ‘IMG’ as denoted in the accompanying legend, which is Ford terminology for the International Markets Group which refers to various markets including Australasia and Asia, including Asean countries such as Thailand and Malaysia.
GALLERY: Ford Bronco spyshots
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