After years of waiting and some unforeseen delays, the reborn Ford Bronco will finally debut next month. The Blue Oval has not provided a precise day just yet, but that is not stopping one of its top executives from taking aim at the Bronco's most direct future rival, the Jeep Wrangler. Let the smack talking begin. Ford's chief operating officer, Jim Farley, was speaking at the 2020 Global Auto Industry Conference earlier this week and he didn't mince words about the upcoming off-roader battle.

"Ford has proven credibility in the off-road space with Raptor now in both F-150 and Ranger [guise] and people love it," he said. "We're already the No. 1 cross-shopped brand with Jeep. And Bronco is an iconic and beloved franchise. We will soon introduce what we believe is a much superior product."

There's no doubt the upcoming Bronco vs. Wrangler battle will be one of great interest for fans of both and off-road enthusiasts alike. Having two highly capable off-roaders on the market will force both brands to stay on top of their games and customers will only benefit. But unlike the Wrangler, the Bronco will not be sold in Europe.

Another reporter in attendance at the event shared on Twitter a slide (shown above) from the presentation revealing Ford's upcoming European SUV lineup and the Bronco (as well as Bronco Sport) were clearly absent. Sorry, Europe. You won't be taking part in this off-road comparison, at least for now.

Like the Wrangler, the new Bronco will also feature a removable roof and doors. Also, a seven-speed manual transmission will be on offer. That seventh-speed, however, is not what many might think. Instead of a typical gear, the seventh gear is really a "crawler" gear specifically for low-speed driving, aka rock crawling. The Wrangler doesn't have that, now does it?

Because the current generation Wrangler has been on the market since early 2018, Ford has had plenty of time to do its homework. Studying its off-road competitor in such extensive details is very likely going to pay off, hence Farley's high level of confidence.