The punishing pounding of a desert’s dunes and sculpted sandscape are no match for the Ford Bronco DR, which delivers thrills by the second at the hands of a willing and able driver.
The Bronco DR is Ford Performance’s turn-key off-road racing SUV. Engineered as part of a joint effort with Multimatic, the first-of-its kind limited-production Baja 1000 racer.
It’s made to withstand some of the toughest racing conditions Mother Earth can throw at it, running for hours on end, fighting terrain that would kill a traditional SUV in a heartbeat, being pelted with corrosive sand across nearly every surface.
At its core are many components that make up the Ford Bronco Raptor, but stopped down to its most basic, and highly engineered form.
Bronco DR is powered by a third-generation Ford Toyota 5.0-liter V8 that delivers more than 400 horsepower. That engine is mated to a 10R80 transmission and shift on the fly transfer case.
All the equipment is designed to harness the added torque and suspension travel driving the Bronco DR in the conditions it was made for.
Unlike a traditional Bronco Raptor, there are no doors on the Bronco DR. Instead the driver and passenger have to slide through the windowless window areas of the fiberglass body panels in traditional racing style. If the image of the less-than-graceful slide into the driver’s seat was as comical to the Multimatic team as it felt it must have looked, they respectfully didn’t show it.
Navigating in the passenger seat was Curt LeDuc, multi-time Dakar Rally, King of the Hammers, Best in the Desert and SCORE racer. With nerves of steel and half a century of experience in his pocket, LeDuc accepted co-driver responsibilities, giving directions for heading out of the corral in Johnson Valley, California, and deep into the desert.
Driving the Bronco DR is an exercise in courage. It goes against every instinct that driving a family SUV around town has taught you. Don’t go quickly over parking lot speed bumps in a Subaru Forester. Gun it and ride high over the desert’s whoops in the Bronco DR.
A Toyota Highlander’s braking is quick and easy. Bronco DR? It’s mechanical. A complete stop is a stand-on-it effort. You quickly grow more comfortable drifting through the corners than doing a true turn.
Your BMW 4 Series turns on a dime and sticks to the pavement with aplomb. The Bronco DR turns but easily falls victim to its terrain, quickly and eagerly skidding.
Those things combine with a 6,200-pound race weight, Multimatic safety cage, thanks in no small part to the to make the entire experience an overt physics lesson.
Riding on 37-inch BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 all-season tires wrapped around beadlock wheels, the Bronco DR remains stable, whether at speeds far over 100 miles per hour (mph) or at low speed as you work up to the cadence necessary to hit whoops with enough speed to stay above their literal pitfalls.
But, tires can only do so much, and it takes years of experience behind the wheel to harness the intricacies of this beast on this terrain.
The Bronco DR carries a 65-gallon fuel tank on board, and has specialized equipment like a rear-mounted radiator and spare tire where the back seat would traditionally be.
Its air conditioning system is gone to help save weight, not that it would be any use in a vehicle with no windows, and other interior finery is stripped back. There’s no doubt this is a racing truck.
Despite all its lack of amenities, the Bronco DR delivers as many thrills per second as you will let it.
It’s raw fun, beastly energy and a throwback all under the guise of Ford’s most mechanically complex Bronco to date. It instantly brings a smile to your face, even as the adrenaline kicks in and your attention narrows.
Ford’s Bronco DR is a treat for the senses, but not in the way that taking a bath while surrounded by candlelight is. This is grow-hair-on-your-chest stuff, and it’s glorious.
