In August 1965, the automotive world was introduced to what would soon become an off-road icon: the Ford Bronco. At launch, the Bronco was offered in three body styles: the U15 station wagon, which most closely resembles today’s Bronco; the U14 pickup with a shortened cab; and the wildest version, the U13 “roadster,” stripped of doors and roof. Of those early models, only the U15 survived through the decades, while the doorless roadster remained a rare and short-lived experiment.
Nearly six decades later, Ford decided to honor that forgotten legend by unveiling a modern interpretation of the Bronco U13 Roadster during the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours at Monterey Car Week.
Ford insists it has no plans to put the Bronco Roadster Concept into production, but that hasn’t stopped it from drawing plenty of attention. And it’s easy to see why: this concept is a raw and uncompromising nod to the past, ditching all the safety gear we take for granted today, no doors, no roll bar, no three-point seatbelts, not even headrests. Like the original, the cabin is stripped down, with just two front seats and a rear area converted into a kind of pickup-style cargo bed.
Under the hood, the Roadster Concept appears to be based on a two-door Bronco running the 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost inline-four, paired with a six-speed manual transmission. That choice matches the “addition by subtraction” philosophy of the U13, even though the modern turbocharged, direct-injection engine is far more advanced than the simple 2.8-liter inline-six overhead-valve engine found in the original.
Visually, the nods to heritage are everywhere. The Fifteen52 “Analog” wheels are directly inspired by the steel wheels of the 1966 Bronco, but here they’re finished in bright silver instead of Wimbledon White. The dashboard and bare-metal floor are painted in Wimbledon White as well, accented with a retro-inspired root beer brown along the lower body.
One of the coolest throwbacks is the flip-down license plate bracket mounted on the swing tailgat, just like the 1966 roadster, so the plate stays visible when the gate is lowered. Even the simple front and rear bumpers are modern reinterpretations of the squared-off steel design from the original.
Realistically, the Ford Bronco Roadster Concept will probably remain a design study. But it’s not hard to imagine Ford borrowing elements for future trims or performance accessories, whether that’s a rear seat delete kit, vintage-style spare tire mount, or heritage-inspired wheels.
