Back at the 2022 SEMA show, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and RTR Vehicles debuted one of the company’s most iconic builds. Dubbed the Ford Bronco “Fun Runner” RT, the custom-built off-road pony sports a number of aftermarket components from the RTR catalog, like a custom front grille, accessory mounting system and more. Since then, the Bronco RT has had plenty of turnout in challenging environments like Moab, but it was about due for an upgrade – and Gittin made that happen, shoehorning the 7.3L Godzilla V8 engine under the hood of the custom pony’s latest iteration. That project was a labor of love according to Gittin, who took to the small screen to show it off.
Unfortunately, the original Ford Bronco “Fun Runner” was totaled in a trailering accident, prompting Gittin and fellow racer Loren Healy to resurrect it in the form of the Godzilla-equipped model. A major consideration was upgrading the steering, which is particularly difficult on the Ford Bronco because its stock system is so tightly integrated into it. After some trial and error, Healy says that he’s perfectly comfortable driving the upgraded Bronco at highway speeds, and it still affords full control while navigating rocks.
As far as suspension goes, it’s fairly similar to the old Ford Bronco build with a bespoke suspension and meaty tires, including a custom body kit built to widen the fenders enough to provide clearance. Of course, the big news is the 7.3L Godzilla powerhouse under the hood.
“We just had to have one,” Gittin says, explaining that it was only a matter of time before RTR found a use for the massive V8. They chose it for this particular build because of its excellent torque, and that it fit the Bronco engine bay “like a glove.” Gittin also says that they’re definitely going to coax some more horsepower out of the engine down the road, but they’re not going to implement that quite yet.
This isn’t the first time that Gittin has fitted a Ford Bronco with a powerful engine – he took the heart of a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and crammed it into the off-road pony in the past. And speaking of the Ford Mustang, RTR collaborated with Ford itself to create the Mustang RTR, a forthcoming EcoBoost performance model.
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