Ford Bronco 'Air Roof' Will Give You Open-Air Off-Roading Via Six Removable Panels

by Mark Stevenson

Published: January 12th, 2017

ford bronco air roof will give you open air off roading via six removable panels

Update: Added detail about next-generation Jeep Wrangler roof.

A vehicle is no Bronco unless owners can remove its roof in some way. Thankfully, it looks like the next-generation SUV won’t disappoint.

According to two well-placed sources, the next Bronco won’t feature a canvas top or fiberglass cap. Instead, it will look to the Wrangler’s little brother, the Jeep Renegade, for inspiration.

The two sources independently detailed the existence of a feature called “Air Roof” for the next Bronco. The system will consist of multiple panels, possibly up to six of them, that can be removed manually and stored in the vehicle.

Much like Jeep Renegade, and unlike the current Jeep Wrangler, Bronco is expected to have fixed roof rails. Our sources did not give detail on what material makes up the roof panels — whether they be glass, plastic, or metal.

The Renegade with MySky — the tradename for the Jeep’s roof — uses solid, lightweight panels that owners can manually remove and store in the trunk. Jeep also offers optional power retractable panels, though they can still be manually removed and stored.

The next-generation Jeep Wrangler pickup variant is rumored to get a fixed roof with removable panels, reports Road & Track.

The illegal convertible

The last-generation Bronco technically had a removable top — but Ford dissuaded owners of its removal for legal reasons.

If a particularly nitpicky cop saw a ’92-’96 Ford Bronco going topless, Johnny Law had every right to pull it over thanks to Ford engineering its Center Mounted High Stop Light (CMHSL) into the Bronco’s fiberglass roof. When removed, the Bronco was without that required light.

Ford attempted to deter owners from removing the top by affixing it to the body with tamper-proof Torx (TR) bolts. The Jeep Wrangler gets around this problem with a CMHSL mounted to the external rear-mounted spare tire bracket.

Off the beaten path

The latest news brings relief to Bronco fans after a Redditor, claiming to work for Ford as a designer, stated the next-generation SUV would be fixed-roof only. Those claims were later refuted by TTAC sources.

North America Product Communications Manager at Ford Motor Company Mike Levine wouldn’t comment on specifics, stating Ford will share more information closer to launch and Bronco will “meet the needs of Ford’s most demanding off-road enthusiasts.”

#AirRoof #Bronco #Convertible #Ford #FordBronco #JeepRenegade #RoofPanels

Mark Stevenson

More by Mark Stevenson

Comments

Join the conversation

4 of 39 comments

EBFlex on Jan 12, 2017

Six panels sounds very convenient. But one can only wonder how much more convenient 12 panels or 18 would have been.

Like Reply
- See 1 previous
- Tele Vision on Jan 12, 2017
  
  :D
  
  Like
- Jansob on Jan 13, 2017
  
  And I'm sure they'll never leak.
  
  Like
Zackman on Jan 13, 2017

I can see it now - all those removable panels. The owners will give their Bronco a nice, if not lovable nickname: the LeakMeister and/or the SqueakMeister. I haven't heard of those issues with Jeeps, but Jeep owners put up with niggles that others wouldn't tolerate, so we'll have to wait and see.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Redapple2 Love the wheels
Redapple2 Good luck to them. They used to make great cars. 510. 240Z, Sentra SE-R. Maxima. Frontier.
Joe65688619 Under Ghosn they went through the same short-term bottom-line thinking that GM did in the 80s/90s, and they have not recovered say, to their heyday in the 50s and 60s in terms of market share and innovation. Poor design decisions (a CVT in their front-wheel drive "4-Door Sports Car", model overlap in a poorly performing segment (they never needed the Altima AND the Maxima...what they needed was one vehicle with different drivetrain, including hybrid, to compete with the Accord/Camry, and decontenting their vehicles: My 2012 QX56 (I know, not a Nissan, but the same holds for the Armada) had power rear windows in the cargo area that could vent, a glass hatch on the back door that could be opened separate from the whole liftgate (in such a tall vehicle, kinda essential if you have it in a garage and want to load the trunk without having to open the garage door to make room for the lift gate), a nice driver's side folding armrest, and a few other quality-of-life details absent from my 2018 QX80. In a competitive market this attention to detai is can be the differentiator that sell cars. Now they are caught in the middle of the market, competing more with Hyundai and Kia and selling discounted vehicles near the same price points, but losing money on them. They invested also invested a lot in niche platforms. The Leaf was one of the first full EVs, but never really evolved. They misjudged the market - luxury EVs are selling, small budget models not so much. Variable compression engines offering little in terms of real-world power or tech, let a lot of complexity that is leading to higher failure rates. Aside from the Z and GT-R (low volume models), not much forced induction (whether your a fan or not, look at what Honda did with the CR-V and Acura RDX - same chassis, slap a turbo on it, make it nicer inside, and now you can sell it as a semi-premium brand with higher markup). That said, I do believe they retain the technical and engineering capability to do far better. About time management realized they need to make smarter investments and understand their markets better.
Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Off-road fluff on vehicles that should not be off road needs to die.
Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Saw this posted on social media; “Just bought a 2023 Tundra with the 14" screen. Let my son borrow it for the afternoon, he connected his phone to listen to his iTunes.The next day my insurance company raised my rates and added my son to my policy. The email said that a private company showed that my son drove the vehicle. He already had his own vehicle that he was insuring.My insurance company demanded he give all his insurance info and some private info for proof. He declined for privacy reasons and my insurance cancelled my policy.These new vehicles with their tech are on condition that we give up our privacy to enter their world. It's not worth it people.”