Rumors have long claimed that the 2021 Ford Bronco will get a manual transmission despite the Blue Oval not offering one in any of its large vehicles. For skeptics, this made the possibility of a row-your-own gearbox unlikely; however, it seems as if the revived Bronco will get a totally new seven-speed Getrag unit that touts a modular construction for various applications. Better yet, it'll be suited for high-torque, low-speed driving with a "crawler" gear set for the seventh speed, along with hybrid powertrain compatibility.

As discovered by Bronco6G Forum user Stampede.Offroad, Getrag's website explains that this family of transmissions is headed for large rear-wheel-drive vehicles with support for all-wheel-drive. The "MTI550," as it's called, will supposedly be offered in five-, six-, and seven-speed configurations with the latter likely coming to the 2021 Bronco given its aforementioned crawler gear. This is especially helpful in technical off-road situations, such as traversing large boulders or straddling ruts on the trail.

Likewise, thanks to the MTI550's large gear spread, the Bronco is expected to have strong gearing at the top-end as well. According to calculations by Stampede.Offroad, the Ford could potentially tout a 7.15 low gear ratio with a .65 overdrive; this was calculated with Getrag's listed gear ratio spread of 11 in seven-speed applications.