As we gathered at Silver Lake to celebrate Bronco's 60th birthday earlier this month, I found myself reflecting on a fundamental question: What made the original Bronco so compelling? The answer led us back to where it all began – what we call the OG – the 1966 U13 roadster.

When Ford introduced the Bronco on August 11, 1965, it was marketed as "the world's first four-wheel drive sports car." That wasn't just advertising hyperbole. The Bronco team’s brief was to make a Mustang for off-road, and the result captured the same element – fun comes through simplicity – that made the pony car such an overwhelming success. "Fun through simplicity” was central to all three of the original Bronco body styles. But where the U14 half-cab pickup and the U15 wagon (which is most similar to the Bronco SUV we sell today) were unquestionably fun, the U13 Bronco Roadster was the closest in execution to an off-road Mustang.

During the development of the 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport, we worked with a group of experts and enthusiasts who helped guide our vision. One of them, who has since become a good friend, owns a beautifully spartan 1966 Wimbledon White roadster. We’ve admired that vehicle for a long time, and it served as the design team’s inspiration, as well as a tangible link to the Bronco’s original design DNA, for this Roadster Concept.

Not intended for production, the Bronco Roadster Concept is a tribute to Bronco’s roots.

What struck me about that original roadster was its compelling simplicity. It didn't need big tires, a lift, or off-road lights to look good. It was just this pure expression of what I call "Go Anywhere, Open Air" – the essential cool that made Bronco special from day one.

As we celebrate six decades of Bronco heritage, we chose to look back on the truest version of the Bronco design philosophy and imagine what it might look like in 2025. The one-of-a-kind result celebrates the genetic markers of adventure and freedom that still exist in every sixth-generation Bronco on the roads today.

When you're in a vehicle like the Bronco Roadster, you're not just passing through nature – you're immersed in it. It reminds me of riding a horse, navigating a kayak through whitewater, or mountain biking over rough terrain. You feel everything as you move through the landscape. Open air isn't just a feature – it's fundamental to what Bronco means, and it connects directly to our "Built Wild" philosophy.

Addition by Subtraction

We approached this as "turning the 6G into an OG" – taking our current-generation Bronco and stripping it back to capture that same essence the original roadster possessed.

Both our Head of Design Todd Willing and Director Paul Wraith have challenged us to remember this key aspect of the OG Bronco: the compelling simplicity. How do we make just the essential cool? It's relatively easy to keep adding elements. It's much harder to create something compelling when you keep asking yourself “What can I take away?”

We simplified the seating, pared back the floor, and created a utilitarian rear compartment that echoes the original. And outside, we sourced machined Fifteen52 Analog wheels, updated the tailgate to a fold-down design with the “FORD” wordmark stamped into the metal, and modified the front and rear bumper to more closely resemble the original Bronco.

This philosophy of intentional reduction guided our approach to modernizing a classic. We had a great baseline with the sixth-generation Bronco. With this concept, we took the liberty to simplify the execution even further with a completely open roadster.

This exercise reinforced something we always keep in mind: the design doesn't stop when we're done – it's only just begun. We want to imagine how our customers will make their Broncos their own, because that's fundamental to the Bronco story.

With the Roadster Concept, we want Bronco enthusiasts to know as we move into the future, we always remember our past.

This concept is our reminder that we continue to hold Bronco's original off-road mission in our goals. Because sometimes, the most profound statement you can make is knowing exactly what to leave out.

Robert Gelardi is Bronco Chief Designer.