When the Bronco was unveiled, a lot of us were disappointed by the absence of a V-8 mill. But, we still had hopes that it could become a reality someday. However, Ford made it clear that a V-8 will not be offered here. Although we had our deliberations, this confirmation from Ford served as the final nail in the coffin.
It has now come to light that Ford was sure about not offering one right from the start. In fact, it even built the Bronco without bothering to check if a V-8 engine could be plonked in or not! Speaking with Ford Authority, Bronco’s Chief Engineer, Eric Loefller said that they hadn’t even given it a shot during its development days.
Does The Coyote V-8 Even Fit Inside The Bronco?
A few days after the Bronco was revealed, PaxPower announced that it will plonk the V-8 Coyote mill in the off-roader. PaxPower will offer it in two states of tune - one being the naturally-aspirated version that makes 400 horses and 400 pound-feet of torque, and the other one is paired to a 2.9-liter supercharger that churns out 758 ponies. This swap will be priced around $30,000 and $45,000, respectively.
Hennessey also jumped the wagon – or shall I say, SUV – last month and announced a limited-production BroncoRaptor. } The company, too, will make use of the 5.0-liter, V-8 Coyote, but with all the Hennessey shenanigans that pushes the power output to 750 ponies.
Although all these companies have publicly announced the builds, the funny thing is none of them have actually presented the production version of the SUV. We wouldn’t say it’s going to be an impossible project, but it won’t be a simple swap. On the other hand, Ford recently filed a trademark application for the ‘Warthog’ moniker. It is wildly speculated to be a Bronco ‘Raptor’ at its essence. Could that be the Bronco V-8 that we were eagerly waiting for? Only time will tell.