DETROIT – Ford Motor on Monday teased the upcoming design of its new Ford Bronco, one of the automaker's most highly-anticipated debuts in years.
Ford released a video and images of a "race-inspired Bronco R prototype" that "hints" at what the production SUV will look like when it debuts in the spring.
"Like the original Bronco, we kept Bronco R's design authentic and simple, with a roll cage on a production-style frame, and a five-piece lightweight body on top," Brian Novak, Ford Performance off-road racing supervisor, said in a release.
The race vehicle, Ford said, was created to mark the 50th anniversary of a Bronco winning the 1969 Baja 1000, an off-road motorsport race held annually on the Baja California Peninsula in Northwestern Mexico. The vehicle, according to Ford, will be used to assist in testing the production Bronco's powertrain and architecture.
Ford discontinued the Bronco in 1996 following a more than 30-year run due to fading popularity of two-door, two-row, large SUVs. The company announced plans to resurrect the SUV in January 2017, however it has released little information regarding the upcoming vehicle.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to correct how long the Bronco was in production prior to 1996. It was 30 years.