Next-generation Ford Bronco may have been leaked in patent filings

The design of the next-generation Ford Bronco off-road SUV may have been revealed in patent applications filed by the American automaker in the US, ahead of production reportedly beginning in late 2029 and a launch around 2030.

A report from respected US auto website Car and Driver details two Ford patent applications containing illustrations of an unnamed SUV that follows the iconic Bronco’s distinctive design and basic shape.

The illustrated vehicle has a muscular stance, combining a familiar Ford front-end graphic – not dissimilar to that of the current Ford Ranger – with Sunraysia-style wheels housed within moulded wheel-arches, extensive body cladding, and roof rails loaded with adventure gear.

While its overall appearance evokes the Bronco, the vehicle depicted in the filings appears slightly smaller than the current model, which reached US showrooms in 2021 and revived the iconic Ford nameplate for the first time since production ended in 1996.

The drawings also appear to show shorter rear doors and marginally smaller wheel-arches than those of the current Bronco.

There’s also a top-hinged tailgate instead of the side-hinged swing gate used by the current model and the Bronco Basecamp, which Ford has confirmed for Australian release in the second half of 2027.

Technically, the Bronco is unrelated to the Bronco Basecamp. The latter is made in China, where it's known as the Bronco New Energy, and based on a car-like monocoque platform, while the Bronco is underpinned by the same Australian-developed T6 ladder-frame chassis as the Ranger and Everest sold here.

Although the Bronco Basecamp is coming to Australia, the Bronco itself isn’t currently sold here because it isn’t produced in right-hand drive.

That could change with the next generation, given comments made to CarExpert by Ford New Zealand managing director Annaliese Atina, who suggested the Bronco Basecamp’s arrival could strengthen the business case for a right-hand drive Bronco.

Since introducing the current Bronco in the US, Ford has expanded the nameplate into a broader family that also includes the Bronco Basecamp variant and the smaller Bronco Sport.

The expansion follows comments from Ford president and CEO Jim Farley that the automaker intends to capitalise on the strength of iconic Blue Oval nameplates such as Mustang, F-150 and Bronco.

Launched in late 2020, the smaller and cheaper Bronco Sport is based on Ford’s C2 unibody architecture, also used by the now-discontinued Escape SUV previously sold in Australia.

It adds familiar Bronco design cues, including boxy proportions, spaced B-R-O-N-C-O grille lettering, and an upswept window line, but has a conventional top-hinged tailgate.

The Bronco Sport has generally outsold the larger Bronco in the US, although the full-size model moved ahead in 2025 and has retained its lead so far in 2026.

The illustrations don’t necessarily preview a production model and could instead have been created solely to demonstrate the inventions covered by the patents.

These include a modular system for storing removable doors inside the vehicle, as well as an interior sleeping platform, and a rooftop tent supported by the bonnet.

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