We Finally Know Where the Ford Bronco Warthog Name Rumor Came From

Once upon a time, we thought the Ford Bronco Raptor was going to be called the Ford Bronco Warthog. We were wrong.
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Remember when all of us media goons were calling the Ford Bronco Raptor the Warthog instead? Good times. Admittedly, it was kinda puzzling since a camouflaged prototype was spotted testing with the words “Warthog shock cover” written inside the wheel well. Ford also filed a trademark application for the Warthog name around that same time, making us all but certain there’d be such a badge on the new high-performance Bronco. That wasn’t the case, though, and the truck’s chief engineer Aerie Groeneveld has come along to clear up the confusion.

Groeneveld told Ford Authority that Warthog was an internal codename for the Bronco Raptor project. We weren’t totally crazy, then. And it makes sense that Ford would spring for such a tough-sounding name—maybe you’ve heard of an A-10 Warthog, which also soars way above the earth.

Really, the Bronco Raptor has too much in common with the F-150 Raptor to name it anything else. It’s got Fox Live Valve shocks, 37-inch BF Goodrich K02 tires, big ol’ fender flares and a twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. The engine here is a 3.0-liter that’s shared with the Explorer ST rather than the same 3.5-liter that’s in the Raptor pickup, but it still makes a respectable 418 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. Additionally, a 10-speed automatic transmission is the only one available—no stick shift here.

A new Ranger Raptor will be sold in the States for the first time as well, growing the family to three in total. The truck makes 392 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque in international markets, and while it may vary a little once it comes to the U.S., expect it to be somewhere close. The hierarchy, as it appears, is topped by the F-150 Raptor, followed by the Bronco and then the Ranger.

Just don’t bet on a Maverick Raptor anytime soon.

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