Ford Bronco R Will Return To The Baja 1000 This Fall

August 13, 2020 3:15 am

Last November, the Ford Bronco R prototype took on the world’s most notorious off-road race, the Baja 1000. Unfortunately and perhaps unsurprisingly, it didn’t finish the race after a trophy truck rolled onto it, breaking a lower control arm. After that was fixed, a run through some thick mud at mile 580 caused the prototype to overheat. Regardless, Ford promised to give it another go in 2020, and now it has confirmed that it indeed will.

The Bronco R racing prototype, built by Ford Performance and Geiser Performance, continues to serve as a test bed for the brand’s innovative design, capability, and extreme durability testing. It rides on the same chassis as the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco four-door, and is powered by Ford’s 2.7L EcoBoost V6. That sends power back to FoMoCo’s 10 speed SelectShift automatic transmission and an electronic shift-on-the-fly 4×4 transfer case to all four wheels.

The Bronco R features an extreme race version of Ford’s high-performance off-road stability suspension with an independent front, position-sensitive shocks, end-stop control, and ultra-high-speed desert race tuning. Participation in the brutal Baja 1000 is just part of Ford’s Built Wild Extreme Durability testing – a series of demanding tests to ensure all Broncos deliver the highest levels of performance, durability, and capability to every owner.

Ford is the Official Truck and SUV of SCORE-International Off-Road Racing, and the lead sponsor of the SCORE World Desert Challenge Series, which includes the 2019-22 SCORE Baja 1000 races. Ford is also the official vehicle of the King of the Hammers ULTRA4 series. Together, they underscore Ford’s commitment to off-road motorsports and serve as a platform to develop the Bronco brand and connect with off-road enthusiasts.

Since last year’s disappointing finish, the Bronco R team has been hard at work testing and improving the vehicle. This year’s Baja 1000 will give them a chance for redemption when it all goes down this November 17^th-22^nd.

We’ll have much more on the Bronco R soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Bronco news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.