Making its public debut today at Ford’s 2021 Woodward Dream Cruise event in Royal Oak, Michigan, is the Bronco Riptide Concept that was essentially created to show how customers can personalize their SUVs with the brand’s new line of factory accessories. CarScoops’ Mike Gauthier got up close to the concept and snapped a set of photos that you can check out below. [Updated 8/19/2021]
The 2021 Bronco Riptide follows in the footsteps of the Bronco OG and Bronco + Filson Wildland Fire Rig concepts from last year and has been “designed for spontaneous outdoor adventures.”
Ford’s latest creation is based on a four-door Bronco with the Sasquatch Package and has had its roof panels removed. It has also had the regular doors removed and replaced with tubular ones. Ford has also fitted a surfboard rack and finished the exterior in Velocity Blue, which it says “is meant to evoke tropical ocean hues.”
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Many of the parts used by the 2021 Bronco Riptide are available as accessories through Ford dealerships. These include the Bestop mesh Bimini top, Yakima bike rack, and a RIGID LED lightbar and mirror-mounted off-road lights. The concept also features a unique steel front bumper and it also helps to demonstrate how overhead racks can be mounted without interfering with the soft top.
The cabin of the Bronco Riptide is finished in Black Onyx and Dark Space Gray materials complete with marine-grade vinyl-trimmed seats and rubberized floormats that allow it to be easily washed out. As it is based on the Sasquatch Package, it also includes 35-inch mud-terrain tires, 17-inch Ford Performance beadlock wheels, Dana electronic-locking front and rear axles, Bilstein position-sensitive long-travel shock absorbers, and the exclusive Bronco Terrain Management System with seven GOAT (Go Over Any Terrain) modes.
“For this Bronco Riptide project, we imagined a customer who enjoys the open air and a free-spirited West Coast lifestyle,” Bronco color and materials designer Missy Coolsaet said in a statement. “We wanted the vehicle to demonstrate how Bronco customers can personalize their vehicle, letting different types of customers visualize what they might want to do with their future Bronco.”
Live image credits Mike Gauthier for CarScoops