Ford takes us behind the scenes for an exclusive look at two new models built for Ultra4 racing.

While most of the motoring public will have to wait until later this summer to get their hands on the Blue Oval’s latest sport-utility, the folks at Ford Performance are already putting the new retro-inspired SUV through its paces in motorsports. 

Earlier this year, Ford took the wraps off a pair of new Broncos at the 2021 King of the Hammers (KOH) event in Johnson Valley, California. Although the two machines differ substantially, both were developed with the specific intent to take podiums in Ultra4 Racing events like KOH. 

“King of the Hammers is the biggest race of the year for Ultra4 Racing, so it made sense to debut these new trucks there,” said Brian Novak of Ford Performance. “When it comes to off-road racing in the United States, King of the Hammers is kind of a mecca for this crowd. The number of people there that are really passionate about this sort of thing is just incredible, so we wanted to show them what the Bronco can do.”

The new race-ready Broncos were built to compete in two classes—4600 and 4400—and the differences between class rulesets gave way to these two unique animals that will now race under the Bronco banner. As such, we asked Novak to walk us through what each truck brings to the table. 

Bronco 4600

4600 is considered a “stock” production class, but the trucks are far from showroom spec. To get the Bronco ready for racing, Ford selected a two-door example outfitted with the 2.7-liter turbocharged V6, 10-speed automatic transmission, and the off-road focused Sasquatch package as a starting point, but Novak said the 4600 modifications work with a two-door, 2.7-liter equipped Bronco of any trim. 

“It’s a brand-new platform, so part of this is about showing what it’s capable of, and another part of it is about starting to create a path for that customer who buys a Bronco and wants to go race it. 4600 is a stock class, but the way the class rules are written, you’re allowed to modify the engine and do things like that; you’re required to maintain the core hardware like the block and cylinder heads, but there’s a lot of freedom in there. However, in this case we actually chose to leave the 2.7-liter EcoBoost as-is—we haven’t made any changes to it because we feel we’re in a really good place with the power in terms of competitiveness.”

The suspension is another story, though. “Hammers is probably the most difficult off-road race in the world, especially in the 4600 class,” he explained. “We had 29 entries this year and only one finished in the allotted time. It’s a very, very difficult race, so there are some things we had to do to ensure we’d be able to tackle it.”

Ford developed unique race versions of stock-style suspension components like the control arms and trailing arms that are armored and heat-treated for additional strength and turned to the aftermarket to help develop and produce a number of the supporting parts. Fox supplies the Bronco 4600’s 2.5-inch coilovers while the heavy-duty front portal hubs come from 74 Weld. In the rear, Triton Engineering rear links support a Dynatrac ProRock XD60 axle with an ARB 35-spline locking differential and Spidertrax Spider 9 axle shafts and hubs. Ford Performance also developed unique front and rear modular steel bumpers to support a Warn winch and Rigid LED lighting. 

Recaro’s first-ever FIA off-road-certified race shells are also on hand to provide seating inside the Bronco 4600, while its custom roll cage is fabricated by Geiser Brothers in Phoenix, Arizona, who will also serve as the Bronco 4600’s primary builder for the foreseeable future. 

“Our team of engineers at Ford Performance has been working really hard on calibrations, the suspension geometry, driveline work, and other aspects of the truck to get it ready, and we teamed up with some really strong partners to help support that effort and deliver the parts.”

Novak told us that the Bronco 4600 racing effort will initially focus on its respective class in the Ultra4 series, where the Bronco teams have collected a formidable lineup of off-road racing veterans that include two-time King of the Hammers champion Loren Healy and Jason Scherer, a three-time champion of the event.

Bronco 4400

While 4600 is a production-based class, 4400 is a no-holds-barred unlimited class. As such, the Bronco 4400 effort is markedly different from that of its 4600-class counterpart and, if we’re honest, largely a modern Bronco in name only. 

“With an unlimited rule set like 4400, you can build anything you want in order to make the ultimate rock crawler,” Novak explained. “So we’re talking tube-frame chassis, bypass off-road racing dampers, fully built race motors, and so on. It is a 100% purpose-built racing Bronco.”

And rather than using a modified version of the turbocharged six-cylinder that motivates the Bronco 4400, the teams have opted for more traditional muscle with big-displacement pushrod Ford V8 race motors of their own preference. 

“The teams have been taking the lead on the development of the Bronco 4400 trucks—because the rules are unlimited, they’ve each got their own secret sauce,” Novak added. “And that’s what makes 4400 such a cool class to run in. Each team brings their own solution to it, and everybody’s developing down their own path, so it makes for a really good show. And there’s always something to learn. Even something that’s as different from the production truck as the 4400 it can teach us things that help make the 4600 better—or any of our race programs, for that matter.”

SOURCE
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Ford Performance
performance.ford.com