Ford Teases Potential Warthog Bronco With Latest Tweet, But Will It Have a V8?

Ford is really keeping Bronco enthusiasts interested. They successfully launched the 2021 Bronco two-door, four-door and Bronco Sport earlier this summer, after what seemed like a decade of teasing and conjecture.

Since the unveiling of the new iconic Ford Bronco, Ford has kept the intrigue and excitement going with cryptic Tweets, online hints, and a churning rumor mill.

Ford recently sent out a Tweet of an airborne Bronco that appears to be the new Warthog. We know Ford filed a patent for use of the name of Warthog and immediately it was assumed that the Warthog would be the Raptor version of the Bronco.

Ford’s PR guru Mike Levine even teased the photo further by saying “Seen the “spy” photos and raising you a “fly” photo. What could it be?” Savvy Bronco enthusiasts couldn’t help but notice a similarity to the photo and the use of the word fly to hint at the A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft which is nicknamed . . . you guessed it, the Warthog.

It’s moves like this that Ford’s PR team thrive at. And Mike Levine for sure enjoys playing coy and teasing information without ever confirming.

I asked him if this was the Warthog and he said (his standard response): “We don’t comment on speculation about future products.” I followed up with, will this have a V8 engine under the hood and got the same no comment line from him. So, with this frenzy of Twitter excitement, let’s reset the Bronco table a bit and look at what we know and what we think we know.

The Bronco Warthog Will Have a V8
This is speculation only at this point, and honestly it’s a 50/50 guess. I’ve gone back and forth on this and still I’m not sure.

I wrote recently that the 2023 Bronco Raptor (aka Warthog) would have a V8-powered engine. Now, we know this from a LinkedIn profile of a Ford engineer who claimed to have worked on the 2021 Ford Raptor and the 2023 Bronco Raptor. So, it was an assumption, but a logical one, that if this engineer worked on the V8-power Raptor, which we now know will have the 5.2-liter Predator engine from the Mustang GT500, that so too then would the Bronco Raptor (aka Warthog).

The latter of that is an assumption, but a logical one. However, the V8 and the Bronco waters got muddied significantly when Car & Driver interviewed a current Ford engineer who said there would not be a V8 in the Bronco. But, when I looked over that interview closer it merely said for the 2021 model year. That does not mean that future iterations wouldn’t or couldn’t have a V8.

In fact, I asked Mike Levine about the future of V8s for Ford and here’s what he said: “We still see a long life ahead for V8 engines in our lineup, even as they continue to become even more efficient over time.”

Reading between the lines and the Tweets, I still feel pretty confident that the future Warthog Bronco may in fact have a V8. I mean it takes some pretty good power and torque to launch a vehicle airborne as that Tweeted photo showed.

Manual Transmission Available For Sasquatch Package
I broke this news last week to some amount of controversy. Because I sourced someone anonymously at Ford, this piece was met with some doubt and trepidation by enthusiasts.

It received a lot of interest on the bronco6g.com forum. These are good, passionate folks who know the Bronco as well as anyone. They’ve been smokescreened before on news and info related to the Bronco, so I can appreciate their skepticism regarding my little bit of news.

A few other news outlets picked it up and ran with it too and the aforementioned Mike Levine even semi-refuted my claim. But I stand by story and stand by the news as my inside source at Ford said it would be announced, officially, this week. So let’s stay tuned.

As for whether the larger engine of the Bronco, the 2.7-liter, will also be able to get the manual transmission I was not able to get any confirmation regarding that.

So let’s call this Manual Transmission information an unconfirmed, but likely true fact.

Ford Bronco=The GOAT
Referring to something as the GOAT is a cliché for greatest of all time, and it’s frankly overused. But, Ford has spun that acronym for the purpose of the Bronco and it means Go Over Any Terrain. The term and acronym was coined by Donald Frey, who was the Ford president who championed both Mustang and Bronco nameplates.

“Bronco delivers on the common theme desired by enthusiasts – authenticity,” said Mark Grueber, Ford U.S. consumer marketing manager. “Building Bronco as Ford’s distinct outdoor brand includes a unique network of experiences, community and engagement that extends far beyond ownership of Bronco and Bronco Sport models.”

In the flurry of Tweets by Ford Motor Company, GOAT or an emoji of a goat was used several times to show that the Warthog could fly over any terrain. One person Tweeted at Ford that the flying Warthog looked cool but needed a V8, Ford’s response was “The GOAT doesn’t”.

So that comment somewhat muddies my earlier speculation over whether the 2023 Bronco Warthog or Raptor will have a V8. The speculation runs rampant on that, as it remains uncertain. But it’s oh-so-much fun to talk about.

How Much Will the Bronco Warthog Cost?
“We don’t speculate on future products . . . “ you know the line. But one of the official Tweets from Ford said, “We'll be sharing pricing this fall before ordering begins this December.”

This is curious as Ford is in the middle of the order process for the current Bronco family, which as we know has been chaotic and frenetic. Initial orders broke Ford’s order system. So is adding the Warthog as a dangling carrot a way to slow down the orders and let Ford catch a breath on the Bronco production, or is this all just one big tease by Ford who enjoys toying with our emotions.

Be sure to check out my story on Ford's direct confirmation of the manual transmission for the Bronco Sasquatch. That latest story can be found here.

Let’s hear your comments. Would the potential of ordering this Warthog keep you from ordering one of the other Broncos? Would you wait and if so how long? Leave me a comment a below.

Jimmy Dinsmore has been an automotive journalist for more than a decade and been a writer since the high school. His Driver’s Side column features new car reviews and runs in several newspapers throughout the country. He is also co-author of the book “Mustang by Design” and “Ford Trucks: A Unique Look at the Technical History of America’s Most Popular Truck”. Also, Jimmy works in the social media marketing world for a Canadian automotive training aid manufacturing company. Follow Jimmy on Facebook, Twitter, at his special Ford F-150 coverage on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read the most of Jimmy's stories by searching Torque News Ford for daily Ford vehicle report.