Aftermarket Ford Bronco Carbon-Fiber Hard Tops Are Coming Soon
The stampede of Bronco aftermarket roofs is almost here.
Ford Bronco owners have no shortage of aftermarket options for their trucks, except for the ones they probably want. The roof woes for the Bronco are numerous and well-documented, and now the first aftermarket roof is now close to release, as Anderson Composites teased a carbon-fiber hardtop roof for the new Bronco.
The first run of the roof will be available built with either vacuum-infused carbon fiber with a fiberglass composite backing or an all-fiberglass composite, but it'll only be available for four-door Broncos, at least for now. The Drive spoke with Dave Davis from Anderson Composites, who confirmed the roof structure is the same as the OEM modular panel style with four separate panels and will come equipped with glass, full wiring, a rear wiper, and new OEM weatherstripping. The design also isn't just a carbon fiber shell, either; to help keep the rigidity and OEM NVH levels, there's the same Ford-designed honeycomb-style interior structure to the panels.
Anderson Composites isn't the first to tease a fiberglass roof, as ADV Fiberglass has had a four-door composite hardtop in the works for over a year now, but the Anderson Composites model appears to be the first to make it to the physical prototyping phase. Anderson Composites' roof may be the first on sale as well, as Davis said that the company is targeting the first week of November for release. He also mentioned the company is currently working on a two-door Bronco roof that will be released in early 2023.
Unfortunately, weight and price are not currently available, but Davis said that the company is targeting a sub-$10,000 price point for the four-door roof. For weight, the company is still finalizing a full spec list, but other (much smaller) roofs that Anderson Composites make, such as a carbon fiber roof replacement for the C8 Corvette without gaskets or hardware, come in at roughly half the original weight (7.6 pounds vs. the stock 15.7 pounds). The stock four-door Bronco hardtop in its modular four pieces weighs a cumulative 123.8 pounds. Since the heaviest part of the OEM modular top is the rear cap at 68 pounds alone (including three panes of glass and wiper assembly), it's likely that the carbon fiber won't be as dramatic a reduction, as the glass is going to be a significant portion of the overall weight.
Either way, even removing the entire top isn't a massive weight reduction when you consider that a base model 4-door Bronco clocks in at 4,476 pounds. The main appeal, then, likely won't be the weight reduction; it'll probably be to get the hard top some buyers actually wanted straight from Ford, but couldn't get, thanks to production issues.
