Has Ford accidentally revealed the next Bronco? 

Key highlights

• Ford patent drawings show an unnamed SUV with familiar Bronco-like proportions
• The filings cover removable door storage and innovative camping and sleeping solutions
• A future right-hand-drive Bronco could potentially benefit Australia, but nothing is confirmed

Ford may have let the cat out of the bag on its next Bronco without meaning to. A pair of US patent applications, spotted by Car and Driver, reports an unnamed SUV that looks an awful lot like a redesigned Bronco, years before any official reveal.

The patents themselves aren’t about styling at all. One covers a modular storage system that lets you unclip the Ford Bronco’s removable doors and stow them inside the cargo area using support beams. The other details are camping-friendly features; a fold-out platform that turns the rear of the cabin into a flat sleeping area, plus a rooftop tent that uses the bonnet as part of its support structure. Handy stuff for anyone who actually takes their off-roader bush camping, rather than just doing the school run in it.

But it’s the illustrations accompanying those patents that have car spotters excited. The drawings show a boxy SUV with a chunky front bumper, vertical tow hooks similar to those on the current Ford Bronco Raptor, and moulded wheel-arches wrapped in body cladding. Roof rails loaded with gear and Sunraysia-style wheels round out the rugged look. 

Read more: 2027 Ford Bronco Basecamp confirmed for Australia with hybrid power

What’s different from the current Ford Bronco?

Compared with the Ford Bronco Basecamp on sale in the US today, the vehicle in these drawings appears slightly smaller, with shorter rear doors and marginally tighter wheel-arches. The biggest visual change is the tailgate: instead of the current model’s side-hinged swing gate, the patent drawings show a top-hinged liftgate, a more conventional setup, and one already used on the smaller Bronco Sport.

Worth remembering, though: patent illustrations exist to demonstrate an invention, not to preview a finished car. Ford doesn’t need the final production design to file for these particular patents, so some details, that liftgate included, may never make it to showrooms.

Why is it important, and does it matter to Australians?

The current Ford Bronco has gone without a full redesign since it returned for the 2021 model year, so a new generation lining up for around 2030 tracks with a normal model cycle. Car and Driver’s reporting points to production kicking off in late 2029, with a hybrid version tipped to land even sooner, as a 2028 model.

For Australian buyers, there’s a catch that’s easy to miss: the Bronco itself has never been sold here, because it isn’t built in right-hand drive. What we are getting is the Ford Bronco Basecamp, a different vehicle entirely, built in China on a car-like monocoque platform rather than the Ranger-based ladder-frame chassis underneath the proper Bronco. Ford has confirmed the Basecamp for Australian release in the second half of 2027.

Interestingly, Ford New Zealand managing director Annaliese Atina has suggested the Basecamp’s arrival across the Tasman could help build the business case for eventually bringing a right-hand drive Bronco Down Under. Nothing’s locked in, but it’s a sign Ford is at least weighing up whether the full-size Bronco could finally cross over, especially with a next-generation model now taking shape.

What we don’t know yet?

None of this is confirmed by Ford. There’s no official reveal date, no confirmed specifications, and certainly no word on Australian pricing or availability for a next-gen Bronco. What we do have is a genuinely interesting early glimpse, filed away in patent paperwork rather than a press release, of where the Bronco might be headed once its current generation wraps up.

We’ll keep tracking this one as more leaks (official or otherwise) emerge.