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Earlier this week, I did a story on the Bronco4400 race trucks that would compete at the King of the Hammers. It showed that Ford was on the right track with hammering down (get it?) their rugged, Built Wild racing brand.
One fair criticism I heard about the Bronco4400 was that they were just shells and not really Broncos. Well, almost on cue, Ford Performance unveiled the Bronco 4600 race truck that will compete in the stock class alongside the aforementioned Bronco 4400 in the Ultra4 off-road series.
The biggest takeaway from the Bronco 4600, unlike the Bronco4400, is that it demonstrates how 2021 Bronco two-door and four-door customers can prep their 4x4 for off-road racing in the ULTRA4 series.
“Innovating the off-road landscape and competing with Bronco’s higher-speed off-road abilities have always been at the core of Bronco brand’s heritage,” said Dave Rivers, Ford SUV marketing manager. “Our new Bronco 4600 race trucks underscore our motorsports heritage and how the all-new 2021 Bronco can be tuned from the showroom floor to compete in the grueling ULTRA4 stock class series.”
Built Wild Racing
Ford has made a concerted and obvious effort to brand Built Wild and throw that label around on anything that is off-road rugged and also tie it to racing and performance. Enter the Bronco 4600 to proudly sport that Built Wild moniker.
Like the first-generation Bronco that took the 1969 Baja 1000 outright, new Bronco 4600 builds on this winning tradition starting with a 2021 Bronco two-door SUV with stock powertrain running on a competition-tuned High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (HOSS) System.
“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, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “We look forward to off-road racing teams coming to this platform and to Ford Performance stepping up to continuously enhance the state of the art in off-road racing for them.”
Featuring a 2.7-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V6
While a 2.3-liter four cylinder engine is part of the upcoming new two-door and four-door Bronco lineup, there is also an optional 2.7-liter Ecoboost that is making most Bronco enthusiasts quite giddy. And seeing this engine used in a race truck only adds to that excitement.
Built on a 2021 Bronco two-door with Sasquatch Package, Bronco 4600 utilizes race-tested production 2.7-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V6, SelectShift 10-speed automatic and second-generation T-6 chassis. It serves as a test bed for a growing list of Ford Licensed Accessories and Ford Performance parts alongside the independent performance aftermarket.
Taking learnings from the Bronco R Race Prototype that ran the 2019 and 2020 Baja 1000, the Bronco 4600’s competition-tuned high-performance off-road stability suspension features Fox coilover shocks with remote reservoirs and Fox pneumatic bump stops at all four corners. It also features Wilwood Engineering brakes and 35-inch BFGoodrich mud-terrain T/A KM3 tires mounted to Method Race Wheels 202 Forged Beadlock wheels.
Heavy-duty front portal hubs from 74 Weld are mounted to Triton Engineering control arms with heavy-duty Howe hydraulic steering rack with cooler. A factory Dana AdvanTEK e-locking differential with RCV custom halfshafts deliver front wheel torque. In back, Triton Engineering rear links support a Dynatrac ProRock XD60 axle with an ARB 35-spline Air Locker and Spidertrax Spider 9 axle shafts and hubs. Ford Performance supplies modified front and rear modular steel bumpers and a Warn® ZEON winch, while RIGID LED off-road lights improve night vision. A custom roll cage by Geiser Brothers and first-ever FIA off-road-certified race shells from Recaro are added inside.
Race Red, Oxford White and Velocity Blue
The Bronco 4600 features a new livery that is both familiar and patriotic.
The front design takes inspiration from the 1969 Baja 1000-winning Bronco, with matte black hood, plus white upper and red lower body lines that transitions into a more modern Bronco design scheme extending rearward.
“Our new ‘war paint’ scheme tells the Bronco race story – up front is chapter one that traces back to the victorious 1969 Bronco, then, as you travel along the side, the lines get more diagonal, more futuristic, signaling the future of the brand,” said Scott Guan, Bronco designer.
The hood sports a white Bronco logo. Like Bronco R Race Prototype and Bronco Sport Rebelle Rally trucks, Bronco 4600’s “R” in the grille is distinctly red.
I know the Bronco 4600 isn’t going to be on sale, but how cool would it be if were available? I don’t know about you but I just love the look of it. What do you think about the Bronco 4600? Leave me your thoughts in the comments.
Jimmy Dinsmore has been an automotive journalist for more than a decade and been a writer since the high school. His Driver’s Side column features new car reviews and runs in several newspapers throughout the country. He is also co-author of the book “Mustang by Design” and “Ford Trucks: A Unique Look at the Technical History of America’s Most Popular Truck”. Also, Jimmy works in the social media marketing world for a Canadian automotive training aid manufacturing company. Follow Jimmy on Facebook, Twitter, at his special Ford F-150 coverage on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read the most of Jimmy's stories by searching Torque News Ford for daily Ford vehicle report.
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