Broncos appear poised to buck

Ford Motor Co.'s Bronco and its little sibling, the Bronco Sport, are starting to see the light of day — unofficially.

Images of the Bronco Sport, an off-road crossover, popped up on broncosportforum.com last week.

An image of the four-door Bronco SUV, also leaked last week, revealing a side-opening tailgate and a black soft top.

Both vehicles were scheduled to be formally unveiled in coming weeks but those plans have been postponed indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Bronco Sport is expected to go on sale late this year, followed by the Bronco in early 2021.

The latest photos of the Bronco Sport, which will be built on the same front-wheel-drive platform as the Escape crossover, are mostly similar to images that leaked in 2018 after the company's annual dealer meeting in Las Vegas.

However, Ford appears to have tweaked the Bronco Sport's grille, swapping out "FORD" for "BRONCO" between the vehicle's round LED headlights. The rear features the words "BRONCO SPORT" with the Blue Oval logo positioned in the lower left.

The Bronco Sport has a similar look to the Jeep Renegade, per the photos. The vehicle is expected to be built at Ford's Hermosillo plant in Mexico.

The larger Bronco, which will be built at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, is expected to come with removable doors and windows that can be stored in the cargo area. Ford is planning more than 150 accessories to allow buyers to customize one.

Ford, as a matter of policy, does not comment on future products.

According to dealers, Ford expects sales of the Bronco family — which initially will include two-door and four-door versions of the Bronco as well as the Bronco Sport — will hit at least 200,000 in 2021.