We want to hit the trails in Ford’s Bronco Overland Concept
This rough-and-ready customization was only a matter of time. A few months after the reveal of the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport, the fine folks from Dearborn have revealed the Bronco Overland Concept. The build represents Ford’s latest (though not its first) bid to win over the ever-growing overlanding community. Unfamiliar with the term? Overlanding enthusiasts outfit their 4×4 rigs with exploration and camping equipment and anything else they may need to be as self-sustaining as possible, hitting the trails to escape from civilization and asphalt alike.
Ford’s overlanding concept is based on the four-door Bronco Badlands, and we’re digging it. Any good overland rig needs a set of extra-knobby tires and small wheels so that its driver can air-down before heading off-road and still have some sidewall. The Overland Concept fulfills that requirement with black 17-inch Fifteen52 Turbomatic wheels wrapped in chunky 35-inch BFGoodrich mud-terrain KM3 off-road tires. There’s a full-size trunk-mounted spare for good measure, too.
Suspension remains untouched, but Ford’s High-Performance Off-road Stability Suspension (H.O.S.S. for short) with Bilstein position-sensitive dampers (standard on the Badlands trim) already offers a generous amount of travel. The Badlands trim also comes with a hydraulic front stabilizer bar disconnect, which will allow even more front-end articulation for gnarlier terrain.
Power comes from Ford’s 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder workhorse, which pairs with the Bronco‘s seven-speed manual and cranks out 270 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque—plenty of twist for the trails.
Overlanding is as much about accessories as it is about powertrains, however, and Ford engineers understand that well. A Warn winch bolts directly to the modular steel bumper that comes standard on Badlands-spec Broncos. Up top, there’s a factory roof rack boasting a heavy-duty Yakima two-person folding tent with a collapsible ladder. After sunset, the 1×40-inch RIGID rack-mounted light bar will keep the expedition moving. Park for the night, and six additional light pods on the roof provide all-around visibility.
An ARB plug-in refrigerator, cooking kit, and stove mount to a cargo management system that fills most of the trunk. To add a bit more cargo capacity, the rear quarter windows have been replaced with rigid panels covered with the same MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carry Equipment) grid systems found on the backs of the front seats. A few camp chairs and a light folding table complete the portable campsite.
The unveiling of the Bronco Overland concept coincides with the kickoff of the Bronco Super Celebration East, a two-day festival in Townsend, Tennessee that boasts the largest North American gathering of Broncos anywhere. The party this year will surely be a bit livelier thanks to the advent of the long-awaited Bronco and Bronco Sport SUV.
As Ford has said, personalization and factory-backed accessories are essential to the appeal of the Bronco family. The Bronco nameplate was an obvious candidate for an overlanding treatment, and we’re thrilled to see Ford encouraging this community of automotive enthusiasts.
