He’s won a slew of trophies and championships, but Vaughn Gittin Jr. says his “dream” has only now come true. He’s teamed up with Ford to roll out a pair of factory-made performance machines designed to his specifications.
The first, the Mustang RTR, was introduced last year. The next in line makes its debut this week and the 2027 Ford Bronco RTR is “unapologetically cool,” Gittin boasted during a sneak preview at the automaker’s new world headquarters.
Slotting in-between the familiar Badlands and Raptor packages, the RTR delivers a long list of features customers typically ask for when they take their own Broncos to Gittin’s RTR Vehicles for customization. The good news, he told Autoblog is that the price tag will be “massively” less, and the package rolling off Ford’s own assembly line will get a full factory warranty.
Hitching Their Horses Together
The Formula Drift champion is quick to point out that he’s only raced Fords on track and out on the sands. His RTR Vehicles has plenty of work modifying Broncos and Mustangs. But the obvious next step was to work directly with the Detroit automaker to deliver factory-made special editions.
In the case of the latest package, “Our mission was to develop the hottest performance version of Bronco ever,” said Ed Krenz, Bronco’s chief program engineer. What they’ve come up with, he adds, “checks all the boxes” when it comes to the sort of features RTR’s customized Bronco buyers typically choose. That said, the Bronco RTR is designed to allow for more add-ons. There’s a bank of switches, already wired up, for example, that can be used to toggle accessories like an off-road light-bar.
Sasquatch
There will be two versions of the Bronco RTR, both getting a number of easy-to-spot updates. For one thing, they’ll feature a wider stance and higher ground clearance. Add distinctive Hyper Lime accents on the 17-inch beadlock-capable RTR Evo 6 wheels and other design details. And there will be topographical map appliques of Johnson Valley on the SUV’s hood and sides.
All versions of the RTR feature that high ground clearance suspension, and the trim’s “base” package gets 33-inch rugged-terrain tires – the first time that combination has been offered on a factory-built Bronco. This is the first time for this combination on a factory-built Bronco.
For those who want to step things up, there’s an optional Sasquatch package which gets 35-inch Goodyear rugged-terrain tires as well as the HOSS 3.0 system with Fox internal bypass shocks which, until now, were only available on the Bronco Badlands.
Dominating the Dirt
Whichever package you opt for, “Bronco RTR is built to dominate the dirt, whether you’re in Johnson Valley or on a backwoods trail,” said Gittin. “We gave it the suspension tech to handle the hits, but we also sweat the details that matter to drivers. We reinforced the steering, added anti-lag turbo tech and share high-power cooling fan hardware from the Bronco Raptor to help keep Bronco RTR cool during extended trail time and playing in sand.”
Related: Ford Bronco Celebrates 60 Years With A Rugged Retro Makeover
One other feature being introduced on Bronco RTR could give serious drivers a competitive edge. A potential drawback of relying on turbochargers is the lag that you face when first slamming on the throttle. The new Baja Mode is designed to limit that problem.
Like the SUV’s other Terrain Mode settings, switching to Baja revises a variety of vehicle settings, such as transmission shifts and steering. It also changes engine software controls so that the turbo boost for the 2.3-liter inline-four engine stays high for up to about five seconds, even when a driver briefly lifts their foot off the throttle, say, when entering a tight corner or when facing particularly rough track conditions.
“Access to power is critical” when off-road racing, said Krenz. The Baja Mode fix keeps things “at the limits when you need it,” quickly added Gittin.
Related: Ford Says More Raptor Models Are on the Way
Living the Dream
Gittins is a self-described “professional fun-haver,” and he says the partnership with Ford is a dream come true. Now that he’s got his fingerprints all over the new factory Mustang and Bronco models, might other RTR packages follow?
“Clearly that is a dream of mine (and there could be) an opportunity to do more youthful models throughout the Ford line,” Gittin said – though we’ll have to wait to see what might follow.
For now, we’ll have to wait until closer to when the Bronco reaches showroom next autumn to find out hard details, such as horsepower, torque, as well as ground clearance and pricing. The good news is that the Bronco RTR will be “massively” cheaper than what it previously would have cost to have RTR Vehicles customize the same package. That said, it won’t be cheap. Expect the 2027 SUV to land somewhere between the Ford Bronco Badlands package, which starts at $51,580, and the $81,990 Raptor.
There are no reviews to display.