Dusty Glory: Meet the Ford Bronco DR V8 Desert Race Truck

The Ford Bronco is a wonderful machine. It’s comfortable and capable and looks pretty damn good too. Do you know what would make it better? More. That’s usually our answer for a lot of vehicles but it would be great to find more power and performance from the Bronco. So Ford is doing just that if you’re keen to have a Bronco built for Baja domination. Meet the limited-edition race-only Ford Bronco DR.

Those letters stand for Desert Racer. Not Doctor, nor Dessert Racer. This beefy Bronco swaps out forced induction for a 5.0-liter Coyote V8, which Ford hopes will produce more than 400 horsepower. You’ll also find Multimatic shocks (yes, similar to the Ford GT), a two-door shape on the four-door chassis, and a full roll cage.

The suspension setup consists of the Multimatic dampers paired with Ford’s HOSS system. Multimatic provides billet aluminum lower control arms, finned bodies on the dampers for improved cooling, and the result is a vehicle that wants to travel. Up front the Bronco DR has 15.8″ of travel while the rear sees 17.4″ of travel. And at each corner sit a set of 37″ BFGoodrich KM3 tires on 17″ beadlock wheels.

In the cabin, Ford fits a pair of racing seats, a Motec display, and the shift lever to its own 10R80 gearbox. That would be the 10-speed unit, which here sends power front and back as needed and with the help of electronic front and rear lockers. Out back sits a 65-gallon fuel tank that will help keep the Coyota fed for some time. And also helps contribute to the 6,200-pound race weight.

Disclaimer: Bronco DR race prototype. Concept wrap, not for sale. For demonstration purposes only. Closed course. Professional Driver. Do not attempt. When off-road driving, always know your terrain and use appropriate safety gear. Available fall 2022.

Ford plans to sell 50 of these starting later in 2022. Each one will cost in the neighborhood of $250,000. No word on how that figure will grow if the program is a success. But you can see how that all shakes out as the plan is to put the Bronco DR to the test at the 2022 Baja 1000.

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