Ford Bronco face revealed

The Ford Bronco hype machine is in full swing ahead of the all-new off-road SUV's global reveal on July 13.

New teaser photos from Ford show the born-again retro-SUV will have strong visual ties to its iconic predecessors, including the original 1966 Ford Bronco.

Two new images posted to Ford’s official Instagram account confirm the 2021 Ford Bronco will feature the classic circular headlight design of its antecedents, albeit embedded with dynamic LED flourishes.

The circular headlight design confirms the authenticity of spy shots that emerged in March, and the official teaser image also reveals bold ‘Bronco’ lettering on the grille.

It was accompanied with the caption: “Soon to be seen by the trailheads, mountain summits and sand dunes.”

The second image confirms the new model will be a genuine off-roader, with pumped wheel-arches and all-terrain tyres.

“When you bring back a legend, you have to pay your respects to what made that legend so legendary,” said Ford on Instragram.

The new Ford Bronco is based on the same Australian-developed T6 platform that underpins the current Ford Ranger. With its ladder chassis and an upgraded 4x4 system, the new SUV is claimed to be a genuine mud-slinger.

Ford wants to take on the Jeep Wrangler, as evidenced by a company exec recently saying the Bronco will crush its cross-town rival for off-road prowess.

Like the Jeep Wrangler, the new Ford Bronco will also feature removable roof panels and potentially even removable doors. It’s not clear if it will also get a fold-down windscreen like the Wrangler.

Taking a leaf out of the Tesla marketing and promotion play book, residents in the US will be able to reserve their vehicle for $US100 but price and specs for the Bronco are not yet known.

Engine options are expected to include a 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, similar to the one in the US-spec Ford Ranger, while a six-cylinder petrol engine (likely Ford’s 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6) is tipped to feature as well. Power is all but certain to be fed to the wheels via 10-speed automatic transmissions.

There’s even been talk of a Ford Bronco Raptor down the track, and it could get V8 power.

Ford is also working on a smaller Bronco 'Sport' SUV to complement its big brother.

As it stands there are no plans for a right-hand drive Bronco and Ford says it has no plans to bring the new SUV to Australia, where the Blue Oval's local chief Kay Hart said it would cannabilise sales of the Ford Ranger ute.

Hart has, however, left the door open... albeit ever so slightly, saying: “We’re happy with the [local SUV] line-up as it stands, but that’s not to say we wouldn’t look to add to the range in future.”

And recently revealed Ford USA product planning documents show that the SUV – and the new Ford F-150 pick-up – will be sold in countries that form the company's International Markets Group (IMG), of which Australia is a part.

That doesn’t mean the new Ford Bronco is guaranteed for Australia, given the IMG sales region also includes left-hand drive markets like the Middle East, but there’s still a chance it could eventually could come to Australia.