In a new offering, two- and four-door Bronco SUVs by Ford Motor Co. can be taken apart and put back together again.
The Dearborn automaker’s Broncos come with a modular design that can be stripped to its base — with alternate doors, fenders, and a grille — all changed in one afternoon. In essence, the Bronco makes customization quick for off-roading, with basic modifications made in a matter of minutes.
“I expect a lot of Bronco owners are going to have a lot of fun engaging with the DIY aspects of the modular design because it gives them the opportunity to create the perfect 4×4 for their unique needs without requiring a lot of mechanical expertise or experience,” says Paul Wraith, Ford’s Bronco design chief.
Each door can be removed within two-four minutes. Both front and rear fenders can be also removed and replaced by taking out the bolts without any welding necessary.
Available modular roof panels can be removed by one person. Modular rear quarter windows can be removed as well by releasing a latch for each window. Each of the four fender flares can also be removed. Bronco logos stamped on the body and interior fasteners indicate removeable modular components such as frameless doors, fenders, bumpers, grille, and grab handles.
Available Bronco accessories include LED pod lights on sideview mirrors, LED lights for bumpers, and roof racks.
The SUVs are built to be customized, and motorsport industry leaders such as Theresa Contreras, custom builder and co-founder of LGE-CTS Motorsports based in California, are already seeing custom Bronco parts at trade shows and forums, months ahead of launch. Contreras served on a panel of off-road experts who brought a performance aftermarket voice to Bronco product development to help steer its design to optimize customization.
“The way Bronco is engineered with the modular platform will create a lot of new opportunities for performance parts manufacturers and custom shops, giving them something new to hang their hats on,” Contreras says. “And from a design perspective, the vintage Bronco design combined with some incredible new technology will give custom builders a lot to work with to create some really extreme off-road machines.”
Despite having the flexibility to change the look of the car by hand, Bronco two- and four-door models still meet required Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards when parts are removed for off-road use only. The cowl-mounted sideview mirrors remain on a vehicle regardless of whether the owner has the original doors, alternative doors, or no doors on the vehicle.
The Bronco brand may also see midcycle updates, but those won’t impact the base structure, meaning owners can modify their cars for years to come.
The 2021 Bronco two- and four-door models are slated to arrive in dealerships this summer.
