The reborn Ford Bronco has been such a huge hit for Ford that it makes one wonder what would’ve happened if the model hadn’t been previously discontinued in 1996.
Ford actually offered an idea of where it might go a few years before that and it kind of hit the mark, just not for one of its own trucks.
The Boss Bronco was a concept built for the 1992 show circuit. The Lone Star yellow two-door was based on the full-size Bronco of the time, but redesigned with a unique look.
It had a power-dome hood, body-colored grille and bumpers with rounded edges, integrated fog lights and a step at the rear. A light bar hung over the cabin featured oval lights, but what was behind it was the vehicle’s most radical feature.
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Instead of a square back, it had a sloping fastback over the cargo area with a retractable clear vinyl window. Nothing like it has ever been featured on a production Ford, but one vehicle today does have it.
The Tesla Cybertruck has the same sort of triangular roofline and a retractable, but opaque tonneau that covers the bed. A video feed from the rear of the vehicle provides visibility when it is closed, which wasn’t a common automotive tech in the early 1990s. Of course, the Boss Bronco wasn’t electric like the Cybertruck. It had Ford’s tried and true 5.0-liter V8.
“The Ford Boss Bronco is a spirited, 4×4 thoroughbred with the elegance, handling characteristics, driveability, power and toughness expected from a Ford truck,” designer Andrew Jacobson said in a news release.
“It could be just the type of vehicle we’ll see somewhere down a future trail as we strive to keep the Ford Bronco out front in the full-sized utility vehicle market.”
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But while the new Bronco still isn’t available with a Boss Bronco-style roof, there is a way to get a Ford F-150 with something like it.
A company called Michigan Vehicle Solutions has developed a fastback cover for the F-150 pickup that can be purchased as an aftermarket part. The window doesn’t open, but the entire cover lift up like a hatchback.
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Ford hasn’t given up thinking about alternative truck designs, however. A patent application recently uncovered by American Cars And Racing describes truck with a hatchback that connects the bed to the cabin and can be left open to create a roof over the cargo box. Just not a fastback roof.