The 2021 Ford Bronco has certainly faced a formidable obstacle course in its quest towards debuting for the world to see. Its original debut was canned due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Ford revealed at the time that the Bronco would make its debut in spring. But while the Bronco has missed that particular deadline, it appears that the Bronco’s journey to the global stage is nearing its conclusion, with the company revealing that it will make its debut in July.
The date change was first discovered on the landing page for the Bronco’s mini-site which previously listed the debut taking place sometime in spring. While the Spring Solstice is coming up on June 20th, the new July mandate pretty much confirms that the company will miss this self imposed deadline though Ford stopped short of revealing when in July that will take place. The delays caused by the Coronavirus also wreaked havoc on the Bronco’s production schedule, but Ford did reveal that despite this, the Bronco is still on track to make its debut in 2021. This new development seems to bring things full circle, with the Bronco first being confirmed back in 2017. Since then, a parade of leaks, rumors, and other reports have helped us paint a detailed albeit incomplete picture of the Bronco, and what it will bring to customers.
A new round of leaks has suggested that the Bronco will not only introduce an all new 7-speed manual transmission (the first for a Ford product) but also an infotainment system that could be shared with the 2021 Ford F-150 which will be revealed later this month. Other rumors suggest that a Bronco Raptor model is at least in the pipeline, but if that is the case, we highly doubt that it will be ready in time for the launch. Instead, expect such a model to appear later. The Bronco nameplate will also be treated as a sub-brand, with a smaller Bronco Sport model coming to help bring more budget conscious buyers into the fold.
When Ford does reveal the Bronco next month, look for plenty of details to emerge on the SUV. We look forward to seeing what the two and four door body styles will bring to the table as well as some of the other optional equipment that will make its appearance on the Bronco. With the revived icon also expected to do battle with the Jeep Wrangler (a formidable benchmark in its own right) it will be interesting to see how the Bronco’s attempts at building a viable community of enthusiasts will hold up against the Wrangler’s which has gradually morphed into one of the most potent and long lasting legion of followers that we have ever seen.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.