The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life as we know it. For the Ford Motor Company, that disruption will result in a $600 million loss for the first quarter of 2020, an ongoing suspension of production in North America, plus a delay in the reveal and launch of various vehicles, one of which is the new Bronco Sport, more colloquially known as the baby Bronco.
Ford was originally planning to reveal the Bronco Sport at the 2020 New York International Auto Show last week. Unfortunately, the coronavirus outbreak altered those plans, and the show has been postponed until August, causing the reveal to be pushed back as well. Similarly, Bronco Sport production has also been delayed by two months, from July to September.
As of this writing, it’s unclear when the Bronco Sport reveal will take place. With production delayed into September, the Dearborn-based automaker has some time on its hands to reveal the vehicle. But the more Ford delays the reveal, the tougher it will be to keep the future model under wraps. In fact, photos of a camo-free model already made their way onto the net in March.
The North American International Auto Show in Detroit was scheduled to take place in June, but COVID-19 managed to cancel that even altogether, turning its venue – the TCF Center – into a makeshift hospital. As such, a reveal at that venue is out of the question. The next potential opportunity for the unveiling is the New York Auto Show, which is now scheduled to kick off on August 28th, conditions allowing. Alternatively, Ford could forego an in-person reveal altogether, and host an all-web reveal, instead.
As for the larger, body-on-frame Bronco SUV, Ford’s original plan was to reveal it several months after the Bronco Sport. The same holds true for its production commencement. As far as we know, those plans are still on track, though that could change.
Colloquially known as the “baby Bronco”, the Ford Bronco Sport will be based on the Ford C2 platform shared with the 2020 Ford Escape, 2020 Lincoln Corsair, as well as the international-market 2019 Ford Focus. However, the Bronco Sport will look totally different from the Escape, with a vey upright, boxy design compared to the Escape’s sporty, aerodynamic shape.
Power will come from a choice of two small-displacement, turbo-charged engines: Ford’s 1.5L I-3 Dragon engine will be the standard mill, while the ubiquitous Ford 2.0L I-4 will be optional. Both engines will likely be mated to Ford’s new 8-speed automatic transmission co-developed with General Motors. At launch, five trim levels will be on tap, including base, Big Bend, Outer Banks, Badlands, and First Edition. Production will take place at the Ford Hermosillo plant in Mexico.
We’ll continue telling you all about the forthcoming Bronco Sport. If you don’t want to miss a beat, make sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for more Bronco Sport news, Ford Bronco news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
Hopefully they can delay the reveal forever. The world doesn’t need another Pontiac Aztek.
Any new updates on the Bronco? Any new pictures or info?
Built in Mexico with the E-Mustang. Despicable.