Surf's Up With Ford Bronco Riptide Concept

Ford wants Bronco owners to know the sixth-generation 4x4 SUV can offer more than just a good time behind the wheel.

The automaker announces the 2021 Bronco Riptide concept, “designed with West Coast fun and factory-backed accessory personalization in mind.” It’s designed for driving with the roof removed and has tubular doors in place of standard doors as well as a surfboard rack.

The Bronco Riptide’s Velocity Blue paint job is meant to suggest “tropical ocean hues,” the vinyl-trimmed seats come in Black Onyx and Dark Space Gray and the SUV has rubberized washout flooring.

“For this Bronco Riptide project, we imagined a customer who enjoys the open air and a free-spirited West Coast lifestyle,” Missy Coolsaet, Bronco color and materials designer, says in a news release. “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.”

Based on the ’21 Bronco four-door with Sasquatch Package, the Bronco Riptide features 35-in. mud-terrain tires mounted to 17-in. factory wheels with optional beadlock rings, electronic-locking front and rear axles, a high-clearance suspension and the Bronco Terrain Management System designed to overcome any obstacle on the trail.

The concept vehicle showcases many Ford accessories available to retail buyers at their dealer at time of purchase. Customers can add the cost of factory- and dealer-installed accessories to their financing and roll it into their monthly payment.

Accessories featured on Bronco Riptide include a mesh Bimini top, a bike rack with Santa Cruz mountain bikes, an LED lightbar and mirror-mounted off-road lights. The concept also has a prototype front steel bumper providing added durability and capability, Ford says.

Bronco designers came up with two prototype crossbars that are bolted to the sport bars to show how overhead surfboard racks can be easily mounted without interfering with the soft top.

The Bronco Riptide (pictured below) is powered by a 2.7L EcoBoost V-6 with 10-speed automatic transmission featuring Trail Control, Trail One-Pedal Drive and Trail Turn Assist.

Two- and four-door models of the all-new ’21 Bronco are arriving now, but supply has been crimped by a microchip shortage and assembly difficulties associated with the three-piece hardtop roof.

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