Driven: 2025 Ford Bronco Stroppe Special Edition Name-Checks a Baja Hero

It is a safe bet that most owners of the 2025 Ford Bronco Stroppe Special Edition will have no idea who Bill Stroppe was. That’s not any fault of Stroppe’s, who was integral to Ford’s desert-racing efforts as a builder in the 1960s and ’70s, but the man was born in 1919 and his heyday was about, oh, 20,000 days ago. But that’s fine. Even when a name is attached to a big personality and widespread fame—see Shelby, Carroll—at some point the original human connection transmogrifies into a brand. We all know what it means when a Mustang wears a Shelby badge, so what can we expect from a Stroppe Bronco? Well, a flashy paint job, for one. The Stroppe pays homage to its Baja-racing ancestors with a four-color livery: Code Orange (aka Raptor orange) from the bottom of the truck up to just above the door handles, then a layer of Oxford White below an Atlas Blue hardtop. The hood is matte black to cut glare from the sun on the Warp Zone section of the Mint 400 and also tame the overhead lights of the Taco Bell drive-through. The tailgate is matte black, and the grille is yet a different shade of white—Frozen White. You’ll know a Stroppe Edition when you see it, and not just because badges on the fenders read “Stroppe Edition” alongside an icon of a cactus.As for Stroppe-specific hardware, that’s a pretty thin list. The primary distinguishing characteristic of a Stroppe is that this is now the only V-6 two-door Bronco you can buy, while last year you could get a Badlands, Wildtrak, Black Diamond, or Heritage Edition in that configuration. So the Stroppe is special in that respect, but the Bronco’s 330-hp 2.7-liter V-6 is not exactly a towering upgrade over the base 300-hp 2.3-liter four-cylinder. When we tested a 2021 two-door V-6 First Edition with the 10-speed automatic, it hit 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, while a four-cylinder manual 2021 Black Diamond two-door required 7.0 seconds to reach 60. That delta shrinks even more if you install the $850 Ford Performance 330-hp tune, which enables the four-cylinder to match the V-6’s horsepower and knocked 0.4 second off our long-term Bronco’s 60-mph time. It’s also worth mentioning that the four-cylinder is available with a seven-speed manual transmission while the V-6—and hence, the Stroppe—is automatic-only.The Stroppe does get a suspension upgrade, dubbed HOSS 3.0, which includes 2.5-inch Fox internal bypass dampers that are similar to the ones used on the first-gen F-150 Raptor. The ride is admirably cushy for something so tall that rides on a 100.4-inch wheelbase, but HOSS 3.0 is also available on the Badlands trim, which costs significantly less than the Stroppe. And, at $77,530, everything but a Bronco Raptor costs significantly less than a Stroppe. A base Bronco two-door with the Sasquatch package—which includes the 35-inch tires, lifted suspension, and locking front and rear differentials you’ll find on the Stroppe—goes for $48,350, but with Bilstein dampers.Granted, the Stroppe Edition comes with all the fixings: B&O 12-speaker sound system, 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, heavy-duty front bumper, and steel skid plates. You also get the 12-inch central touchscreen, heated front seats, and a heated steering wheel. If the steering wheel on the 1969 Baja 1000–winning Stroppe Bronco was heated, it was by Rod Hall’s sweaty palms. It’s a function of progress that the poshly appointed 2025 Bronco Stroppe Edition is undoubtedly more capable than anything Bill Stroppe built for racing more than a half-century ago. We did some off-roading that got the axles crossed up enough to require the differential locks and the front stabilizer bar disconnect, and the stubby Bronco scampered out of trouble without a scratch. But that’s the problem: On a $78,000 Bronco, you’re definitely worried about putting underbrush pinstripes across your truck’s glossy Code Orange flanks. Using a Stroppe Bronco the way it’s intended is at odds with its presumed collector status—hey kid, don’t play catch with that baseball or you might smudge Wade Boggs’s signature!Ironically, if you want to drive your Bronco like Bill Stroppe built it, you’re better off with just about any other trim in the lineup—with a base model, you might not feel so bad about sending it off a sand dune, and a Raptor is explicitly built for severe-duty off-road action. The Stroppe is too pretty to grind its way across Moab or sink to the rock rails in Florida swamp gumbo. Yeah, it’s built for that, but we predict that in 30 years its most common natural habitat will be the glassy stage of a Mecum auction. Check it out, folks. Limited edition, low miles, and doesn’t that Code Orange just pop under the lights?SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Ford Bronco Stroppe Special Edition
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door wagon
PRICE

Base: $77,530
ENGINE

twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, iron block and aluminum heads, port and direct fuel injection
Displacement: 164 in3, 2694 cm3
Power: 330 hp @ 5250 rpm
Torque: 415 lb-ft @ 3100 rpm
TRANSMISSION

10-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 100.4 in
Length: 173.7 in
Width: 79.3 in
Height: 75.2 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 58/41 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 52/22 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 5000 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)

60 mph: 6.4 sec
1/4-Mile: 15.2 sec
100 mph: 19.7 sec
Top Speed: 106 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY

Combined/City/Highway: 18/17/18 mpgEzra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive.
Source: caranddriver.com