There are plenty of exciting new products rolling into Ford dealerships in the next few years — the 760-horsepower Shelby GT500, a Mustang-inspired electric performance crossover, a tiny off-roader — but perhaps none has whipped up as much frenzy as the 2021 Ford Bronco due to arrive next year. Ford, for the most part, has played its cards close to the vest with the new Bronco, revealing little beyond the basic silhouette. That’s left enthusiasts scrambling to find information however they can — including some odd places.
Like, for example, the auto parts reference computer at an automotive store. Which is exactly where Off-Road.com found out that the 2021 Ford Bronco will apparently pack a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.
One of the website’s correspondents stumbled upon the listing while poking around the parts lookup tool at a Canadian Tire. To verify this, Gear Patrol checked out the online version of the tool on Canadian Tire’s website; sure enough, searching under 2021 model year vehicles revealed a single result — a Ford Bronco with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.
A quck survey of Ford’s engine lineup reveals but one engine matching that displacement: the turbocharged EcoBoost inline-four found in various states of tune under the hood of the now-defunct Focus RS, the base Mustang…and, most notably, the Ford Ranger. In Ranger form, the engine cranks out 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, and comes connected solely to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Given that the new Bronco will be based on the Ranger’s chassis, it’s no surprise to hear that it would pack the same engine found in the pickup (at least, here in America).
Of course, it’s possible that some overzealous Canadian Tire employee simply guessed what engine will be crammed into Ford’s new off-roader, and that the new Bronco will show up with a different powertrain entirely. But our instincts tell us this seems more like an honest mistake made by someone with inside access to the Bronco’s mechanical specs than an auto parts database programmer deciding to go wild with the system. Here’s hoping Ford pulls the wraps off the vehicle soon enough and clears things up once and for all.