One of the most popular vehicles at the SEMA Show in the US gambler’s paradise of Las Vegas over the past two years has clearly been the Ford Bronco: dozens of spectacular show cars based on the sixth Bronco generation, which unmistakably quotes the original Bronco from the 1960s, were in the spotlight at this most important gathering of the international tuning industry worldwide.
The good news: From the end of this year, a limited number of the retro off-road vehicle will also roll into the showrooms of German Ford dealers. The bad news: While in its home country the more than 400 hp Raptor 3.0 EcoBoost is the top model of the Bronco brothers, “only” the 335 hp / 563 Nm 2.7 EcoBoost will be available there. Manhart thought that was a shame: so they immediately decided to raise the Broncos 2.7 EcoBoost to the level of the Raptor Bronco – and in many respects beyond. The result of this plan is the MANHART BC 400 presented here, limited to ten units.
Its type designation already anticipates that the power output here is also beyond 400 hp: Exactly 421 hp and 680 Nm are available after our power treatment. This power is ignited by the installation of a MANHART intercooler upgrade from Whipple/Ford Racing, cold air intakes from aFe and in-house stainless steel downpipes including 400-cell catalysts. On the software side, MANHART MHtronik additional ECU does its work. Of course, the hardware upgrades were not chosen arbitrarily: A large part of customer base is located in the Middle East. In the hot temperatures prevailing there, the upgrades to the intercooler and air intake are particularly effective, so that the MANHART BC 400 is able to dash even more dynamically through the dunes. Its coarse Renegade R7 off-road tires (35×12.5R22LT), mounted on 9.5×22-inch MANHART 12-Spoke wheels, provide ample traction on this terrain.
Behind the wheels, another significant upgrade is waiting to be put to use: from factory, the Ford Bronco is only equipped with undersized brakes that have trouble keeping the more than two-ton off-road vehicle in check. So they dicided to install a Brembo brake system at the front axle which is much more potent, with powerful 6-piston calipers acting on 380×34 millimeter discs. This opens up considerable safety reserves, especially in tough off-road and dynamic road use.
The fenders of the Bronco Badlands, which served here as the basis for the BC 400, are usually kept in plain black ex works. MANHART chose to paint these body elements in the same color as the car – sun yellow – as well as the “Bronco” lettering on the radiator grille and other exterior details. The MANHART decor set was applied in contrasting gloss black, and the rear side windows are dark-tinted.
This color concept is also found in the BC 400 passenger compartment. Here MANHART realized a custom Alcantara interior in black/yellow, which includes the dashboard and steering wheel in addition to the seat furniture and the door panels at the front.
