Wild Ford Bronco race truck has Aussie DNA

Based on the same Australian-developed T6 platform underpinning the Ford Ranger, the wild Ford Bronco 4600 off-road race truck is one of the most extreme versions of the new all-American mud-plugger thus far.

At least until the Ford Bronco Warthog rocks out.

Developed by Ford Performance – the same team behind the Ford Ranger Raptor which looks tame by comparison – the Bronco 4600 race truck showcases “how the all-new 2021 Bronco can be tuned from the showroom floor to compete in the gruelling ULTRA4 stock class series”.

The 4600 is based on the two-door Bronco with the Sasquatch Package and is powered by Ford’s 2.7-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol V6 engine (231kW/542Nm) hooked up to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

It’s built from a factory-standard vehicle and comes fitted with a rugged competition-tuned off-road suspension set-up.

Included are upgraded Fox coilover shocks with remote reservoirs, Fox pneumatic bump stops at each corner, new brakes from Wilwood Engineering and 35-inch BFGoodrich mud-terrain T/A KM3 tyres lining forged beadlock wheels from the Method Race brand.

The list of 4x4 extras on the beefcake Bronco 4600 is about as long as your arm, but here are the main bits:

• Heavy-duty front portal hubs by 74 Weld
• Front control arms by Triton Engineering
• Rear links support by Triton Engineering
• Heavy-duty hydraulic steering rack with cooler by Howe
• Dana AdvanTEK e-locking differential with RCV custom halfshafts
• Dynatrac ProRock XD60 axle
• ARB 35-spline Air Locker
• Spidertrax Spider 9 axle shafts and hubs
• Warn ZEON winch
• RIGID LED off-road lights

The Ford Bronco 4600 off-road race truck also gets a custom roll cage from Geiser Brothers along with what Ford says is the “first-ever FIA off-road-certified race shells from Recaro”.

Newly designed front and rear modular steel bumpers are also part of the package, created in-house by Ford Performance.

“Bronco 4600 underscores how ready the all-new Bronco is for competition and how Ford Performance is committed to driving the brand’s success across multiple off-road series,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director.

The red, white and blue exterior livery was inspired by the 1969 Baja 1000-winning Ford Bronco, complete with white and red body decals and a matte black bonnet.

While the Ford Bronco may be off the menu for the Australian market, that doesn’t stop us looking forward to what the Jeep Wrangler rival will be capable of when taken to extremes – and this is surely the best example yet.