Ford Bronco Riptide project vehicle – an open concept for fun and sun by the sea, West Coast surf lifestyle

Bronco, Ford’s “Built Wild” outdoor brand of 4x4s, has revealed this cool beachmobile. The Bronco Riptide custom build vehicle was designed with America’s West Coast fun and factory-backed accessory personalisation in mind.

Following last year’s Bronco OG and Bronco + Filson Wildland Fire Rig concepts, the new Bronco Riptide project vehicle is designed for spontaneous outdoor adventures, of the coastal kind. With the roof off, doors removed (replaced with tubular doors) and surfboard rack and boards above, it’s all open air and sun.

The Velocity Blue exterior is meant to evoke tropical ocean hues. With durable marine-grade vinyl-trimmed seats in Black Onyx and Dark Space Gray and rubberised washout flooring, the Bronco Riptide is made for a beach day out.

“For this Bronco Riptide project, we imagined a customer who enjoys the open air and a free-spirited West Coast lifestyle. We wanted the vehicle to demonstrate how Bronco customers can personalise their vehicle, letting different types of customers visualise what they might want to do with their future Bronco,” said Missy Coolsaet, Bronco colour and materials designer.

Based on the Ford Bronco four-door with the Sasquatch Package for extra off-road capability, the Riptide features 35-inch mud-terrain tyres mounted to 17-inch factory wheels with optional Ford Performance beadlock rings, Dana AdvanTEK electronic-locking front and rear axles, and a high-clearance suspension system with Bilstein position-sensitive long-travel shock absorbers.

Of course, there’s also the standard Bronco Terrain Management System with seven G.O.A.T. (Go Over Any type of Terrain) modes designed for different off-road situations.

The Riptide showcases many Ford accessories available to customers at their dealership, where customers can add the cost of factory- and dealer-installed accessories to their financing. The options seen here include a Bestop mesh Bimini top, a Yakima bike rack with Santa Cruz mountain bikes, and a Rigid LED lightbar and mirror-mounted off-road lights.

The front steel bumper of the Riptide is a prototype. Like the two Almond surfboards, the Bronco design team came up with two prototype crossbars that are bolted to the sport bars to show how overhead racks can be easily mounted without interfering with the soft tops. If the jungle is more your thing, check out this Overland concept.

This Bronco is powered by a 2.7 litre EcoBoost V6 turbo with 310 hp/542 Nm and a 10-speed automatic transmission, which features Trail Control, Trail One-Pedal Drive and Trail Turn Assist. There’s also a 2.3 litre EcoBoost turbo-four (270 hp/420 Nm), which gets a seven-speed manual option. This four-door version is new, and a more traditional two-door is also available.

While the sixth-generation Bronco was revealed in July 2020, production only started in Michigan in June this year. Early birds in the US are getting their much-anticipated reborn icon now.

GALLERY: 2021 Ford Bronco