CARLISLE, PA – As part of our coverage of this year’s 30th anniversary of the Carlisle Ford Nationals show, we’ve already highlighted some of our favorite Mustangs and classic Fords that were among the more than 3,200 vehicles in attendance. But of all the Blue Oval rides on the show field that were likely least concerned about all the rain throughout the weekend, it was the rather large groups of off-road rigs quite used to water and mud – those that wear the Ford Bronco badge.
Bronco traces its roots back to 1966 with help from Mustang heroes Donald Frey and Lee Iacocca, and to this day remains one of Ford’s most iconic nameplates. When Bronco re-emerged after a 23-year hiatus on July 13th, 2020, order banks quickly filled up in a wave of popularity unseen for many decades. Today, new Broncos are populating events and shows all over the United States, including powering many specific driving experiences of their own. That’s why it was no surprise to see such a wide variety of Broncos at the Carlisle Ford Nationals this year. We saw everything from original preserved vehicles to those decked out to the nine’s with modifications or off-road equipment as well as wild overhauls covering Broncos across all six generations, even including the Bronco II and the new Bronco Sport models.
It appeared to us that the greatest Bronco footprint at Carlisle was comprised of the first generation (1966-1977) and the sixth generation (2021-current), although there were still plenty of examples that were produced in-between on display. One group of Broncos that has really grown in number are the Bronco Sports, which are starting to gain their own unique following separate from their bigger and more rugged brethren. That’s not to say that off-road challenges deter them – we saw many a Bronco Sport decked-out with light bars, lift kits, off-road tires, flares, rooftop tents, and many other off-roading accessories you’d find for the full-size Bronco!
With its terrain-tackling capability, it only made sense that most Broncos were staged up on the hilly portion of the show field at the Carlisle Fairgrounds. But much like all the Mustangs below, there was a distinct sense of individualism at play in the Bronco display areas, thanks to the multiple personalization options and packages from factory to choose from as well as the ever-growing aftermarket accessories support for Ford’s famed off-roader. Come take a look below at some of the Broncos we spotted up on the hill at this year’s Carlisle Ford Nationals:
FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY JOE DELADVITCH
