FORD

Bronco (1st Gen)

The Ford Bronco (1st Gen) was launched in August 1965 for the 1966 model year as Ford's purpose-built compact off-roader, conceived by product manager Donald Frey and championed by Lee Iacocca to take on the Jeep CJ-5 and the International Harvester Scout. Built on its own unique chassis rather than a shortened pickup frame, the first-generation Ford Bronco rode on a short 92-inch wheelbase with coil-sprung front suspension that gave it genuine off-road agility. Buyers could choose three body styles: an open Roadster with no top or doors, a half-cab pickup, and the most popular Wagon with a full removable hardtop. Early Ford Bronco models used a 170-cubic-inch straight-six, but the legendary 289 and later 302 V8 soon arrived to create the muscular machine collectors crave today. The Ford Bronco even found competition glory, with Rod Hall and Larry Minor winning the gruelling Baja 1000 outright in 1969. Built right through to 1977 before being replaced by a larger full-size model, the first-generation Ford Bronco totalled 225,585 examples. Once a humble working truck, the early Ford Bronco has since become a genuine blue-chip classic, with clean original V8 Wagons and high-end restomods now commanding very strong money and the rarest survivors reaching deep into six figures at auction.