The 2021 Ford Bronco was unveiled just last week and it set the Internet on fire. And while everyone has been impressed with the complete package that the new Bronco brings to the table, as well as the formidable competition that it brings to the Jeep Wrangler, one interesting part is the choice of engines that Ford stuffed under the hood of the trio of Bronco body styles. The automaker was aiming for a combination of fuel efficiency and power via the use of turbochargers, as it has with all of its trucks and SUVs as of late, but did they also include a V8 engine in the mix?

The 2021 Bronco relies on technology for its power

While we all love the pure and intoxicating sound of a V8 engine in just about any format, we, unfortunately, won’t be hearing coming out of the new Ford Bronco. Although the original iteration of Ford’s popular two-door SUV had a choice of either a V6 or V8 engine, the new one does not. However, if you value new technology and know that turbocharging is beneficial in extracting the most efficiency and power out of an engine, then you will be happy to know that the new Bronco makes great use of it.

The 2021 Bronco is powered by a choice between either a turbocharged 2.3-liter, four-cylinder that produces 270 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque or a twin-turbo 2.7-liter V6 engine that puts out a much stouter 310 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Either engine choice is paired to a 10-speed automatic, although a seven-speed manual transmission is an option on the smaller engine. As you can see, while a V8 engine is not a possible engine choice on the new Bronco, the more-potent twin-turbo V6 option makes a bigger engine unnecessary.

If you want a V8, get an older Ford Bronco

The good news is that you can still get a Ford Bronco with a V8, you’ll just have to find a much older one. For example, the 1971 Bronco was available with either a 2.8-liter V6 that produced 105 horsepower and 158 lb-ft of torque or a 4.9-liter V8 that pumped out 210 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque. Both engines came mated to a three-speed manual transmission. Luckily, if you don’t really have to go that far down the Bronco generation tree in order to get yourself more cylinders under the hood, as all of the other Bronco generations, up until its discontinuation in 1996, came with V8 engines. But the engines in the new Bronco are still much stronger and more fuel-efficient.

Is the Ford Bronco missing out by not having a V8?

While turbocharging technology is a great way to gain power and fuel efficiency, Ford might actually lose some die-hard off-road enthusiasts by not offering a bigger engine. The main reason being the Jeep actually teased a new iteration of the Wrangler Rubicon 392 Concept, which actually has a V8 engine. And it’s not just any V8 engine, it’s actually a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 that should push out 450 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque and yield 0-60 times under 5 seconds, according to USA Today. That’s extremely impressive and it should give the Ford Bronco a run for its money. That is, unless Ford comes up with a Bronco Raptor in the future.