3 photos
Turbulent days or not, it’s only a matter of time before the new Ford Bronco reaches the streets. It is, after all, one of the most anticipated vehicles in recent memory — one whose development period has been laden with breathless rumors and leaked imagery. By now, we know pretty much what it’ll be: a Wrangler-esque, retro-styled off-roader designed to set fire to enthusiasts’ hearts.
But if we’re being honest, there’s a part of us that wishes the real Bronco was a lot more like this incredible Super Bronco build.
This one-off Super Bronco — documented on Reddit’s /r/projectcars forum and brought to our attention via Jalopnik and Motor1 — is no midsized pickup-based SUV, and it certainly isn’t retro. Instead, this modern beast was created by smashing together a couple recent members of the Ford portfolio: a 2001 Excursion, a 2005 F-250 Super Duty crew cab and a 2012 F-250.
The chassis is a blend of the ’05 Super Duty and the ’01 Excursion, the two frames melded together by the builder (who’s the father of the Reddit poster). The nonfunctional 6.0-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel of the ’05 truck was fixed and rebuilt to what the poster describes as “bullet proof” specs, while whipping up somewhere on the order of 400 horsepower. The front axle and electric locking rear differential of the ’12 Super Duty was swapped in to give the Frankenbuild four-wheel-drive.
To add extra versatility and make sure the back seat was usable, the builder added a pair of suicide doors from a SuperCab Super Duty, shaved them down and fitted them to the rear of the truck’s cab before slotting cab and Excusion body together. The front end alone is practically worthy of its own build thread; it’s a blend of Super Duties from model years 2008 (hood, fenders, headlights), 2017 (grille) and 1999 (part of the hood). And the rear end uses taillamps from a 2017 F-150 (mounted upside-down, as a matter of fact) and a giant custom-made center tail lamp that loudly proclaims “SUPER BRONCO.”
The interior is its own set of wonders, too. The dashboard comes from a 2017 Ford, with a custom Samsung tablet installation added for extra usability. King Ranch leather upholstery has been wrapped around repurposed Lincoln MKX seats, while the center console is made from aromatic cedar.
