Photo credit: Ford

From Car and Driver

The new Ford Bronco SUV will come with either two or four removable doors and have a removable hardtop.

It will share a platform with the next-gen Ranger pickup.

The Bronco will go on sale in late 2020, according to Automotive News.

We have been eagerly awaiting the Ford Bronco's return since it was first officially announced back at the 2017 Detroit auto show, and now it appears we'll have to wait a little while longer. According to Automotive News, which gleaned info from dealers who attended a Ford event last month where future products were shown, the Bronco will hit dealer lots in late 2020. Thankfully, to tide us over, the dealers leaked some details about the Bronco that were previously either only speculation or not known at all.

The biggest news to Bronco fanatics will surely be that the new SUV will be available in both two- and four-door form. We were expecting a two-door variant based on Ford's first teaser photo of the Bronco (shown above), but the inclusion of a four-door version is news to us-and it makes a lot of sense, given that the four-door Jeep Wrangler, the Bronco's biggest competitor, makes up a huge majority of total Wrangler sales. We recently got our first look at a Bronco test mule, which was based on a current Ranger and had a short wheelbase indicating that it was for a two-door model. We wouldn't be surprised if both Broncos' dimensions are extremely close to those of their Wrangler counterparts.

Also like the Wrangler, the Bronco's doors will be removable, according to AN's sources, but-unlike the Wrangler_the Bronco will have A-pillar-mounted side mirrors, and the doors will be stowable in the cargo area. The Bronco will also have a removable hardtop roof, making it one of just three convertible SUVs available by the time it goes on sale, including the Wrangler-if the Range Rover Evoque convertible is still around by then, that is.

The Bronco People Have Been Hoping For?

In what's sure to be another relief to Bronco fans, the SUV will stick to its roots with a boxy, retro design. Dealers said it has round headlights and a rectangular grille with "Bronco" written across the front, and from the teaser we know it will have a rear-mounted spare tire. One source told Automotive News that it "was twice as cool as I thought it would be," with another calling it "a game changer." We'll wait to see it for ourselves to make a final conclusion, but all the signs are pointing to the kind of new Bronco that people have been hoping for.

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Dealers were also apparently shown the "baby Bronco" crossover, which will be out a few months before the Bronco, as well as the Mustang-inspired crossover EV and the oft rumored and now confirmed unibody Courier pickup. Apparently, Ford will be marketing all four vehicles as a utility-focused almost-subbrand, but the automaker is not going so far as to label the models as such. We should see both the Bronco and its smaller crossover cousin revealed by the middle of next year at the latest.

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