Ford’s Cool New Bronco Roadster Is Illegal To Sell, But You Can Build Something Like It
Ford is celebrating the Bronco’s 60th anniversary with a retro custom truck that it built in-house.
The Bronco Roadster Concept is inspired by the factory “U13” model that was available from 1966 to 1968.
Like the original, the Bronco Roadster Concept has no roof, roll cage or provisions for doors. Its bodywork is designed with permanent openings that are neatly integrated into the sides.
Ford specified it with the Bronco’s 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that’s the only engine option you can get with a manual transmission today to enhance the throwback effect.
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It also deleted the rear seat and created a small bed like the original’s, which is filled with an interior spare tire carrier.
It rides on silver steelie-style wheels and has matching upholstery on the seats, which are old fashioned low-back buckets equipped with lap belts.
Headrests that provide protection in a crash have been required in trucks since 1991 and three-point seatbelts for much longer than that, so Ford couldn’t sell a Bronco Roadster exactly like this from the factory.
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You can build something like it yourself instead. Anderson Composites makes a set of aftermarket doors with Roadster-style step-throughs that attach to the four-door Bronco’s standard hinges for $1,199 a pair, front and back.
Ford is offering a 60th Anniversary package on the production Bronco in the Outer Banks trim with the off-road Sasquatch package that can be ordered in Wimbledon White or Ruby Red.
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It includes heritage graphics, a Wimbledon White roof, 35-inc tires on 17-inch wheels with classic Bronco logo center caps, a hardshell spare tire carrier, a silver Warm Alloy-colored grille with Vermillion Bronco lettering and a white with black upholstery interior trim style.
We would’t advise removing the roll cage, but if you take off the roof and install the Anderson Composites doors, you can turn it into your own 21st century Roadster.