Published by off-road.com, the pictures were reportedly taken from a presentation at a dealer conference held in Las Vegas, before being subsequently posted on a “publicly accessible part of a Ford website”, and shows the Baby Bronco adopting a suitably more aggressive, retro themed appearance inspired by the first generation original.
While initially thought to have been the full-size Bronco that will ride on the same T6-platfrom as the global and US-spec Ranger, as well as the Everest, the compact dimensions confirms the images are indeed those of the Baby Bronco, which will make use of the C2 underpinnings currently being used by the Focus.
Drawing visual similarities with model portrayed in the blacked-out teaser released earlier this year, the Blue Oval’s smallest SUV has however undergone a few changes, most notably the round headlights that extends into grille effectively, eliminating a chrome bar, a black plastic bumper, vents integrated into the front panels and a contrasting white roof in the case of the orange derivative depicted.
Very much also the topic of speculation are the engines that will power the Baby Bronco, which at this stage will likely include the most powerful units doing duty in the Focus, namely the 134kW 1.5 EcoBoost petrol and the 110kW 2.0 EcoBlue turbodiesel. An additional option could be the 2.3 EcoBoost powering the Ranger, Explorer and Lincoln MKC, with transmission choices set to include a six-speed manual, an eight-speed automatic or even the 10-speed self-shifter co-developed with General Motors.
In spite of its Focus underpinnings, the Baby Bronco will allegedly offer the option of front-or-four-wheel drive, while a recent trademark application has suggested that Ford could market it as the Maverick, reviving a name last in 2004 for the first generation Escape sold in Europe.
As indicated by recent spy shots of the Baby Bronco allegedly hiding underneath the skin of a Fiesta test mule, the production version could well very be classified as a world model as it sported a right-hand drive setup. More details are however expected to emerge in the coming months.
