It may have been the COVID-19 pandemic that sparked it, but the modern obsession of overlanding hasn't waned in popularity even five years after the coronavirus hit. These kind of rugged, self-supported vehicular adventures have been happening in one form or another since the invention of the automobile, but it's not hyperbole to say that overlanding has hit its peak in the last decade.
You don't have to take our word for it, either. Take a stroll through dealer lots and you'll find Ford, Toyota, Subaru, and many of their legacy automaker brethren have adopted overlanding's adventure-forward design language, if not the mechanical features as well. But factory-produced vehicles can only go so far and get to certain degrees of (stomach-able) extremes. That's where Ready to Rock (RTR) Vehicles and Vaughn Gittin Jr. fill in.
See, the Formula Drift legend and King of the Hammers repeat racer has developed a certain affinity for off-road antics. To feed this passion of his to the general public, RTR is proud to present its take on the Ford Bronco, known as the Bronco RTR ROVR — as in, "lunar rover" or "Mars rover." It's inspired by that go-anywhere-do-anything mentality that characterized our nation's initial trips to space, but Gittin Jr. explains to Road & Track that this upgrade Bronco is made to be unstoppable on Earth.
"The Mars rover was out there exploring Mars, these depths unknown. And that's what we want this vehicle to inspire people to do, and it has the capability to do that," Gittin Jr. says. "This model is about performance and giving our customers the platform to just bring their gear and go."
The basis of the model is your pick of four-door Bronco models, plus the $26,595 kit produced by RTR. That may be as much as a base Subaru Crosstrek, but it comes with plenty of mechanical goodies. Flow-formed, 17-inch RTR Tech 6 wheels wrapped in 35-inch Nitto Recon Grappler tires begin the upgrade list, offering greater wheel durability and a significant enhancement in traction. A high-clearance cat-back exhaust also increases the engine note while simplifying the underbody. RTR also asks Bronco owners to swap out their stock shocks for a Fox 2.5 Elite suspension kit, which includes upgraded control arms and increases adjust-ability at an cost of $7695.
The RTR team stands by these mechanical upgrades not only on brand-name merit, but through hardcore testing in places in Baja, the toughest trails on the East Coast, and RTR's own New Mexico development site.
"I'm not going to say it outperforms the [Bronco] Raptor, but it hangs in a little bit of a tighter pack for sure. That makes it easier to manage on tight trails and things like that," Gittin Jr. says. "The shocks are adjustable. You can stiffen the damping and that'll handle the heavier loads, or when you're just full of people, and help with the bumps and the ride."
Design naturally played a role in making this extraterrestrial Bronco stand out, but even the bodywork adjustments were done with off-road functionality in mind. LED lighting packing up to 19,000 lumens is a nice upgrade to have on pitch-black trails, while the frame mounted RTR Rock Sliders add an additional level of protection for the Bronco's rocker panels. Plus, the new, tubular steel bumpers are not only more durable, but also improves the rear departure angle for cleaner getaways.
It's not surprising that even the seemingly superficial design choices have function, considering he team behind the Bronco RTR ROVR includes two-time King of the Hammer champion Loren Healy.
"We race Broncos. We've been racing since the beginning. But we also understand not everyone is looking for a race vehicle," Gittin Jr. says. "I'll never put something on the market that I would not be able to have fun in personally. That's the measure of like 'Can me or Loren Healy enjoy these vehicles?'"
Fastening and rack specifications are the name of the game for most off-road and overlanding enthusiasts. So, RTR has naturally upgraded the roof rack setup on the ROVR, adding attachments for any number of Molle rack, rally lights, and camping setups that you could throw at it. It also has the capability to take 800 pounds of cargo on top, thanks to the in-house designed rack. Plus, it has contour graphics derived from the topography of the Mars Pathfinder landing site, which are pretty damn cool.
Prospective buyers will be able to purchase an Bronco RTR ROVR straight from one of around 150 Ford dealers in the U.S., although current Bronco owners can also bring their late-model steeds in for an upgrade at the RTR Lab in Concord, North Carolina or an RTR-authorized Ford dealer. Notably, all RTR models come with a three-year, 36,000 mile warranty from the day they enter service, which layers on top of the remaining Ford factory one. We won't act like $26,595 isn't a lot of money to off-road ready your already capable Bronco, but the peace-of-mind that is a layered warranty is certainly worth something.
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