2023 Ford Bronco DR Redesign, Release Dates And Engines – Ford has ultimately delivered over a factory-built modern Bronco with V-8 power, only it is not street-legal and you’ll must entrance up a mid-$200,000 figure to personal one.

Ford Bronco fans, this isn’t the brand new Bronco Raptor you have been waiting for nevertheless it is not some one-off racing automobile, possibly.

Sure, Ford will create a handful of of such for those who want a wild Bronco with V8 power as well as the capacity to conquer sand dunes within a single certain.

You just won’t have the ability to drive it to your nearby Vehicles & Coffee event. It’s known as the Bronco Desert Racer, or 2023 Ford Bronco DR for short, and Ford is developing it as a turnkey racer to take on the Baja 1000.

In fact, a prototype version will start competing in 2022, with Ford aiming to enter it into the Baja 1000 that year. The 2023 Ford Bronco DR will then be available for sale in late 2022, as a 2023 model.

Ford said only the “first” 50 examples will be available for sale at that date, suggesting that more examples could be offered down the line.

According to Mark Rushbrook, global director for Ford Performance Motorsports, this will be the first time that Ford has offered a competition-ready desert racer straight from the manufacturing unit.

2023 Ford Bronco DR Engine

The Bronco DR is a spiritual successor to original Broncos that competed and won in the Baja 1000 in the 1960s and ’70s. It’s based over a Bronco four-door fame but features numerous upgrades for desert racing.

Including a 5.0-liter V-8 that’s targeted to deliver over 400 hp. The engine is mated to a 10-speed automatic and sends drive to the wheels via independent electronically locking front and rear differentials with 4.70:1 final drive ratios.

You might be wondering now if Ford is preparing to offer a V-8 in road-going Broncos. We did, too, and contacted the automaker. Spokesman Mike Levine said the decision to go with the V-8 in the 2023 Ford Bronco DR was due to Baja’s Heavy Metal class, designed for vehicles with V-8s.

He said the 5.0-liter V-8 was the best choice, in terms of the power and torque needed to compete. which stands for Desert Racer. As the photos clearly illustrate, this is not a typical production Bronco with some bigger tires and fat fender flares.

Ford is not ready to completely spill the beans on this bonkers off-roader, but where you’d normally find a boosted engine with both four or six cylinders, the Bronco DR packs a 5.0-liter V8 making “at least” 400 horsepower (298 kilowatts). It gets to the ground through a 10-speed automatic transmission borrowed from the Ford F-150.

2023 Ford Bronco DR Design

Beyond the V-8, Ford added a unique body (to cover a 73.7-inch entrance track and 73.3-inch rear track), roll cage, and serious chassis upgrades. Key among the upgrades is a new set of Positional Selective DSSV Dampers from Multimatic.

Position-sensing dampers are favored by off-road racers, as they’re in a position to enhance the ride and handling over a much wider array of surface types.

The dampers on the 2023 Ford Bronco DR feature 80-millimeter bodies with finned fluid cooling channels, and connect to custom billet aluminum lower control arms.

According to Ford, the 2023 Ford Bronco DR should deliver 55.1% more front suspension travel, at 15.8 inches, and 58.6% more at the rear, at 17.4 inches, compared to a stock four-door Bronco Badlands.

Other specs include a race weight of about 6,200 pounds, and approach, departure and breakover angles of 47, 37 and 33 degrees, respectively.

The car is also fitted with 17-inch beadlock wheels wrapped in 37-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 tires. These house stock brakes, although the pads are upgraded.

2023 Ford Bronco DR Performance And Prices

Power and suspension aren’t much without tires, and the DR rides on big 37-inch Mud-Terrain tires from BFGoodrich.

Beadlock wheels keep the tires in place on the wheels, and with a front track of 73.7 inches and a rear track of 73.3 inches, the Bronco DR aims to keep itself steady at speed.

As you’d expect with a dedicated race vehicle, you aren’t going to climb inside and find a bevy of creature comforts. You will find a full safety cage with a pair of racing seats and a Motec C187 display

Along with other data-acquisition gear. Though it’s constructed on the standard Bronco four-door frame, the rear is occupied by other items, not the least of which being additional cooling systems and a full-size spare tire.

A 65-gallon fuel tank is below all of that, and to help lighten the load, all the body panels are fiberglass. Still, this Baja-bashing Bronco tips the scales at 6,200 pounds.

Earlier this week Ford unveiled the 2023 Ford Bronco DR, a stripped down, hardcore desert racer with more than 400 horsepower and crazy suspension travel. It is targeted at those who want to drive off the dealer lot straight to the starting line of the Baja 1000.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, get ready to pony up more than $200,000. Then get in line. That’s because only 50 units will be produced for the 2023 model year.