Since its launch back in 2021, Ford has been iterating on its revived Bronco. From new packages and combinations (remember when we weren’t going to get a manual Sasquatch?) to entirely new variants, such as the throat-punching Bronco Raptor. But we’ve also seen incremental upgrades and adjustments to the Bronco’s mechanical components.
While many (if not most) of those changes were the direct result of customer feedback, they were made possible by another constant in the Bronco’s ongoing development: Racing. That’s why Ford has been secretly using its annual Baja racing expedition as a testbed for new Bronco parts—and they’re doing it again this year.
In an exclusive one-on-one phone interview, with The Drive Ford engineer and off-road specialist Seth Goslawski explained how the NORRA Mexican 1000 in Baja has become a mainstay of the truck’s constantly evolving mechanical design.
“When we launched [the] Bronco, we showed up with, obviously, an unreleased product. It was still a prototype,” Goslawski told The Drive.
NORRA’s come-one, come-all attitude allowed Ford to effectively enter their test vehicle with nothing beyond its factory equipment and basic safety gear—gear its development prototypes already had installed.
“This all kind of fell in place,” Goslawski explained. “Internally, when we’re doing the high-speed, off-road validation, we’re required to have fire suppression and the roll cage and the fixed-back seats and [five-point harnesses]. That’s just in case of roll.”
“We’re looking at everything and we’re like, ‘Wait a minute. We we already have all the required safety equipment for doing this. ‘It’s not like an additional expense.’ So that was convenient, you know, when you look at it from that standpoint.”
What started as a no-brainer has now become a staple of the Bronco’s engineering program.
“We’ve done it every year since then and we’ve definitely learned something every year,” he said.
Not every upgrade resulting from Ford’s desert excursions made headlines the way its updated steering gear did, but in a car where incremental, year-to-year changes have been the norm (rather than a single, large mid-cycle update), every little bit counts. When the team heads back to Baja in late April, it will be with something significant under the Bronco’s sheet metal, Goslawski told me.
“I wish I could say but I can’t,” Goslawski said. “It’ll be obvious. I’ll state that!”
We’ll just have to wait until Ford shares details of the 2027 Bronco. If the company keeps to tradition, we’ll know more in just a few months. Stay tuned.
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