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Christmas has come early for serious Ford Bronco fans. Ford is actually selling the brand-new 2023 Bronco DR, or Desert Racer, race truck to the public. Sure, it’s $200,000 and you have to get special approval to buy one, but it’s a racing Bronco! What makes the Ford Bronco DR so special?

What is the Ford Bronco DR?

Ford Bronco DR race truck in teh desert
The Ford Bronco Desert Racer | Ford

The DR is designed to compete in the 2022 SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race through Mexico, which will take place Nov. 15 to Nov. 20. The DR only looks like a Bronco. Underneath, it’s a purpose-built race truck that has a roll cage built to SCORE, the off-road racing sanctioning body, standards. Each Bronco DR is hand built just for each owner by Multimatic. While it looks spartan, this beast still has to arrive at Baja with a race weight of 6,200 pounds.

The DR gets a third-generation Ford Coyote 5.0-liter V8 tuned to make more than 400 horsepower, according to Ford. DRs get built by Multimatic, which makes the special shocks needed for off-road racing. In this case, it gets the Bronco brand-exclusive High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (H.O.S.S.) system, adding Positional Selective DSSV Dampers with 80-millimeter bodies with finned fluid cooling channels, as well as Multimatic-designed billet aluminum lower control arms.

This isn’t your regular Bronco SUV: compared to a four-door Badlands series Bronco, Bronco DR is targeting 55.1% more front suspension travel, at 15.8 inches, and 58.6% more at the rear, 17.4 inches, for remarkable capability over nearly any terrain. It’s like a desert racing Stadium Super Truck.

How can I get a Ford Bronco DR?

Ford Bronco DR
Ford Bronco DR | Multimatic

Let’s get this out of the way: The Bronco DR is made by Multimatic’s race shop. That means you have to petition Mulitimatic to order one. Sure, that’s a bummer, but these are all intended to go to professional racers who intend to compete at the highest levels, not weekend warriors who are wanting to show off. The first 50 “approved clients” should be getting their DRs in late 2022, Multimatic said.

The Ford Bronco DR is not at all, in any way, street legal. It may look kind of like a Bronco on the outside, but that’s about the only similarity. It has no doors. No windshield. Forget turn signs. No emissions equipment, either.

Even if you could drive it on the street, it would likely be a hassle. Not only would it be loud, but suspensions that are set up for desert racing make the vehicle feel like it’s floating around with no grip on asphalt.

Which Ford Bronco has the most horsepower?

A 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor in red navigates off-road terrain.
2022 Ford Bronco Raptor | Ford

While the DR should get a tune to make a little more than 400 horsepower, the Bronco Raptor has 418 horsepower from its 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6. The Bronco Raptor routes that power through a 10-speed automatic and an on-demand 4×4 system. The Bronco Raptor could be the closest thing you can buy that could compare to the DR because of its HOSS 4.0 System with FOX Live Valve 3.2 internal bypass semi-active dampers, which is Ford’s way of saying “fancy suspension.”

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Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.