The hype and excitement that is building around the soon to be released Ford Bronco are getting more real by the day. From what we have seen, they appear to be well placed. It has become an excitement that almost matches the thrill people have for the pickup version of the Jeep Gladiator.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you mixed the excitement of the upcoming Ford Bronco and that of the Jeep Gladiator pickup? Well, if reports are true, you might not have to wonder for much longer.

The Ford Bronco pickup

While it’s understandable that most of the focus is geared towards the 2021 Bronco, which is meant to provide competition for the Jeep Wrangler, Automobile reports that Ford has plans to launch a pickup based on the upcoming Bronco.

This will not be the first time the Bronco has been available as a pickup. There was the two-door single-cab truck that was available alongside the more popular SUV version during the 1960s. Although the 2021 Bronco SUV is set to be available in two-door and four-door options, this new pickup truck will be available exclusively as a double-cab four-door truck.

Though some might have assumed that the pickup truck will be based on the Escape-based ‘baby Bronco’, Ford will more likely opt to base it on the body-on-frame Bronco expected halfway through 2020.

AutoForecast Solutions, a future forecaster for the automotive industry, reports that the engineering and design for the Bronco pickup truck kicked off a few months before the launch of the Jeep pickup.

The report goes on to state that the pickup’s production is scheduled for July 2024; a date well within 2021 Bronco’s lifecycle. Why the long wait? A different source points to the upcoming releases of the 2021 Ford Courier; that is based on the Focus unibody and the Ranger Raptor as a reason for the five-year wait.

The five-year wait might be beneficial. On top of taking the time to get the pickup right, the 2024 production date would mean that the Gladiator will more or less, have the market all to itself. The release of the Bronco pickup truck could come at a time when people are ready for a new and exciting product.

Sources expect the pickup truck to gain inspiration from the Explorer SportTrac models of the early 2000s. Meaning it might come with a shorter bed than the one the Gladiator has been fitted with. It is also expected to borrow some of the confirmed features of the Bronco SUV such as the hybrid powertrain which offers a greener off-road option, removable doors, and reconfigurable top.

Other rumored features of the Bronco SUV include a 2.3-liter turbo-4 engine with a more powerful V6 turbocharged option. A 7-speed manual transmission is also rumored to be part of the SUV’s portfolio which makes sense since the Jeep Wrangler offers stick. All this is speculation for now but don’t be surprised to see the pickup model with a few specification similarities with the 2021 Bronco SUV.

While Ford has insisted it will not build the current’s North American Ranger’s Raptor version, Raptor versions for the new Bronco and the pickup are highly likely; estimated to be launched within a year after the launch of each standard model.

As much as we would love confirmation of the reports right now, it is not forthcoming. The attempt to get details from Ford on the circulating rumors was not successful with Mike Levine, Ford’s spokesman stating that they do not comment on the speculations of future products.

While a Bronco pickup truck sounds exciting, it’s probably best not to get too hung up on the idea. For now, our focus remains on the release of the SUV version.