As a color and materials designer, I'm trained to look for color trends across the automotive industry and beyond.

For the past several years, bronze surfaced as a trend in fashion, jewelry, and other consumer products. Now, the trend has found its way into the automotive space, primarily among consumers who are gravitating toward aftermarket accessories like bronze wheels.

Last year, we began developing an available Bronze Package for the 2026 Bronco Sport, using the Sinister Bronze that had been featured on the Mustang and Mustang Mach-e, as well as the Ford Custom Garage Bronco Sinister Bronze package. In December 2024, our bet on bronze was confirmed when Pantone named Mocha Mousse — a color nearly identical to our Sinister Bronze — the 2025 Pantone Color of the Year.

But we had to use caution with a Bronze Package for an off-road vehicle like Bronco Sport, resisting the urge to use the color too much. The wheels were a natural place to start, helping visually connect the vehicle to the trail, but beyond that, our team had to be very deliberate with where and how we used it.

It's most impactful as an accent to complement a lineup of exterior colors that includes Oxford White, Shadow Black, Carbonized Gray, Velocity Blue, Space White, and Azure Gray Tri-Coat Metallic.

Available on Big Bend models, as well as with the Black Diamond Off-Road Package and with late-availability on Badlands models, the Bronze Package features 17-inch, fully painted mid-gloss wheels.

All-season tires are standard on Big Bend models, while Black Diamond Off-Road Package-equipped and Badlands units are equipped with all-terrain tires.

Exterior Designer Boris Schwarzer created one of my favorite parts of the package: two-piece Bronco lettering on the grille and liftgate. Sinister Bronze letters are backed by an Ebony Black outline, providing an exclusive touch.

Painted fender vents give another elegant accent. On all models, the roof and grille are painted black while the door handles are body color.

Both inside and out, the package is purposefully restrained and subtly impactful.

With Bronco Sport, we were able to build upon the bronze packages available on Mustang and Mach-e by extending the color to the interior of the vehicle.

Painted accents stretch across the instrument panel and around the vents, as well as on the first- and second-row door panel C-channels, all weather floor mats, and cargo area protector.

The center console wears bronze Bronco badging, and the steering wheel, armrests, and cloth seats feature Canyon stitching to complete the package.

From my days as a materials designer in the fashion industry, I learned the importance of paying attention to everything around me, particularly things that are moving.

Working on Bronco Sport, I tapped into thinking about performance and capability in that same way.

Working with a color like Sinister Bronze has felt very natural. One of the beautiful things about this shade is that it blends seamlessly with landscapes.

When I imagine being out on the trail, overlanding, or off-roading, I focus on the ground, inspiration coming from the actual land itself.

Sinister Bronze captures that hue. The color is truly at home on the trails.

Kristen Keenan is color & materials designer at Ford Motor Company.