Ford Bronco R entering Baja 1000 ahead of retail revival
Ford is entering a racing version of its Bronco R in the 2019 Baja 1000 ahead of its spring retail revival. The Bronco R features a modern design based on the 1966 original’s boxy styling.
Now this is a monster truck.
Ford Bronco restoration specialist Gateway Bronco has revealed plans to start offering modernized versions of the classic 1967-1973 fifth-generation Ford F-Series, and it's starting with a bang.
Its first commission is for a 1969 F-250 equipped with a 700 hp supercharged version of Ford’s new “Godzilla” 7.3-liter V8. Gateway starts its builds with donor trucks in solid condition, then strips them down and refreshes them with a powder-coated chassis, a lifted four-link suspension, an electronically-controlled 4x4 system and an updated drivetrain that includes a 10-speed automatic transmission and a choice of the 7.3-liter or a 5.0-liter “Coyote V8” with or without supercharging.
Gateway Bronco's feature retro switchgear and high-end materials, like the Porsche-sourced upholstery in this one. (FoxNews.com)
The interior can be trimmed in a variety of high-end materials like bison leather and reclaimed barn wood. Gateway machines retro knobs and buttons that resemble original equipment, including an electric window switch that looks like a crank handle.
Gateway also offers electric versions of its Broncos powered by a 260 hp/330 lb-ft motor that’s designed to look like a V8 and company founder Seth Burgett told Fox News Autos it already has orders for a couple of F-Series with it.
(Electric GT)
All of Gateway's trucks are officially licensed by Ford, and Burgett said he targeted the fifth-generation pickup as its second model because it's one of the hottest on the collector truck market, with tons of interest today.
The Illinois-based company currently finishes -between one and two Broncos a week that sell for $150,000 to over $300,000 and the F-Series is similarly priced. This F-250, which is scheduled to be completed in time for the SEMA aftermarket parts show in Las Vegas in November, if it happens, cost an eye-watering, but numerically-appropriate $250,000.