The 2027 Ford Bronco RTR Is a Raptor Lite for the Next Generation

Key Points

• Ford has partnered with RTR Vehicles to develop a high-performance four-cylinder Bronco RTR that promises to do much of what the expensive Bronco Raptor can do — at a much lower price.
• The Bronco RTR is still a year away from showing up in showrooms, with full specs and pricing to be announced closer to its on-sale date of October 2026.

If you’re a young automotive enthusiast, you’re likely familiar with RTR Vehicles, the tuner firm created by drift king Vaughn Gittin Jr. that’s already partnered with Ford to create the Mustang EcoBoost RTR, a turbocharged drift coupe that brings affordable performance and wild styling to the Mustang crowd. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to think of RTR Vehicles as the Shelby for the 21st century and the zoomer generation, but the company does more than street vehicles.

To showcase their experience in Ultra4 off-road racing, RTR Vehicles has partnered up with Ford again to create this, the 2027 Ford Bronco RTR. Think of it as a no-frills, value-oriented, content-loaded off-road Bronco meant to do higher-speed things at nine-tenths of what an expensive Bronco Raptor does but without a lot of the luxury trappings that boost prices. You know, kind of what the RTR Mustang does, but in the dirt.

Related: More 2026 Detroit Auto Show Coverage

Lookin’ Fly

Visually, RTR stylists made changes to the Bronco to bring it in line with the company’s aesthetic. A new grille is the most obvious visual change, with hockey-stick-style LED running lights upfront. The fender flares are of the squared-off heritage style, and they cover unique 17-inch RTR Evo 6 beadlock-capable wheels wearing standard 33-inch off-road tires. Hyper Lime accents abound all over the Bronco RTR, from trim pieces to the wheels’ rock rings. The special graphics all over the Bronco RTR pair well with the Avalanche Gray paint, but more colors will be available, per a Ford spokesperson.

The Really Interesting Bits

But the Bronco RTR is not just a pretty new face and a dye job — the most interesting bits come under the hood. The RTR is based on the Big Bend trim level, according to Ford, so it comes with a standard turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine and 10-speed automatic transmission. It also will feature a Baja mode, which will activate an exclusive antilag feature in the turbo engine that keeps the boost up when the driver lifts the throttle. In a Mustang, this is useful for getting big torque back when drifting, but in the Bronco, it will be useful when jumping or getting into deep sand. To help keep the engine cool, RTR added the 1,000-watt high-powered fan from the Bronco Raptor with a little tweaking.

The suspension in the Bronco RTR gets some love, too, featuring a different tune and geometry for a wider track and higher stance. And even more fun will be had if you specify the Sasquatch Package for the Bronco RTR; that will bring 35-inch tires and the Hoss 3.0 suspension with Fox internal bypass shock absorbers that you could previously only get on the more expensive Bronco Badlands trim. The setup is more similar to the shocks you’d get on the first-generation F-150 Raptor than the latest versions that come on a Bronco Raptor, but it’s a pretty good next best thing that’s meant for allowing high-speed runs over rough terrain and allowing for catching air when you want.

It’ll Be a While Before We Drive It

What we don’t know about the new 2027 Bronco RTR is what the inside might look like, as Ford showed us this new SUV well, well in advance of its arrival in showrooms. Ordering is set to begin in October 2026, with deliveries starting in January 2027, a full year from now. Pricing will follow closer to the on-sale date, and we’re likely to have some more details about interior upgrades (if there are any) at that time, too.

The Bronco RTR certainly seems promising on paper, however, being lighter and potentially more nimble than a Bronco Raptor for less money, but only a romp through Johnson Valley, Cali., where it was developed will let us tell for sure.

Read More Ford Bronco News on Cars.com:

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