The SUV will return to the automaker's lineup next month.
A date for the long-awaited return of the Ford Bronco has been announced for July 9, 2020. The premiere date also marks an interesting bit of history for the sport utility vehicle—the birthday of O.J. Simpson. In 1993, the former football player was wanted for the deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and led police on a chase around Los Angeles in a Ford Bronco.
The Ford Bronco was introduced in 1966 as the original sport utility vehicle. It combined a truck with a multi-passenger vehicle that could be used to pull a trailer or go off-road. A smaller version of the Bronco, the Bronco II was added in 1984. The Bronco line was discontinued in 1996 as four-door SUVs became more popular. Ford announced the return of the Bronco at the North American Auto Show in 2017, and it was originally set to debut this spring until the coronavirus hit.
Ford says the release taking place on Simpson’s birthday is coincidental. The U.S. was captivated by the live coverage of Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings evading police on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. The white full-size Bronco was being driven by Cowlings while Simpson allegedly rode in the backseat with a gun to his head. The chase went on for two hours and ended with Simpson surrounded at his home. After a long publicly-televised tria,l he was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.
Video released of the new Bronco shows a tough off-road vehicle that can tackle everything from swamps to mountainous terrain. The company also developed a Baja version of the Bronco similar to the model that won the Baja 1000 in 1969. No pricing or consumer delivery dates have been announced.