Ford Bronco Off-Road Tease Reveals Nothing Concrete — and Certainly No Asphalt

The long march toward the introduction of the Ford Bronco took more baby steps with the automaker releasing footage of the SUV performing some off-road testing in the California desert.

Related: 2020 Ford Bronco: 3 Things the Off-Road Race Prototype Tells Us About the SUV-to-Be

This is just the latest in a series of teases, including a sneak peek at the forthcoming Bronco in racing form, building up to the sixth-generation Bronco’s debut this coming spring. The video shows a Bronco prototype, wrapped in heavy camouflage to obscure its shape and grille, ripping through sand and crawling over rocks to put its off-road credentials to the test.

What’s there to glean from this video? Not a ton that’s concrete. The only interior glimpse faces backward, where we see a likely non-factory-installed roll cage, along with five-point harnesses and some testing equipment. And our best bet at what the exterior will end up looking like comes from the boxy Bronco R race version, with its long flat hood and large front windows. Wrapped up in the camo, the Bronco looks very much like an abbreviated pickup truck with a camper shell, so I’m hoping that when the wrapping comes off, it’ll look more cohesive.

The 42-second video shows the Bronco ripping through deep sand and doing some rock crawling — though crawling might be the wrong term because the Bronco moves up those rock piles rather quickly and shows some ample suspension flex. Those beefy off-road tires, however, also don’t look stock. It’ll be hard to say how the Bronco will measure up to the Jeep Wrangler — its primary (and perhaps only) direct competition — until we see an equipment list and, of course, get some time behind the wheel.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a true contender emerge to challenge the Jeep’s throne, and this latest video only increases my excitement to see how the Bronco stacks up.

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