Bronco Sport

Make
Ford
Segment
SUV

As if the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco hadn't already encroached enough upon the Jeep Wrangler's space, there's already evidence of a hybrid Bronco model on the way, threatening the forthcoming Wrangler 4xe before that plug-in even has a chance to get comfortable in the showroom.

We'd love to show you the Bronco hybrid evidence so you can see for yourself, but uh, "someone" seems to have very swiftly wiped just about every trace of it from the internet. It's gone.

The evidence in question came in the form of a YouTube video showing off the Bronco's spiffy new digital instrument panel, which, curiously, included a brief shot of an "EV Coaching" display.

The special EV-only display screen caught the attention of the web forum over at Bronco6G, one of whom linked to a Behance.net page - since deleted - that was purportedly full of videos and pictures of the Bronco's digital instrument panel. After the page's deletion, user ZackDanger said he had "grabbed everything and will work to get them up here."

Want to guess what happened next? That's right; the contents were promptly "deleted due to removal request."

Ironically, the fact that someone - presumably Ford - appears to be working so tirelessly to stamp out every trace of the evidence only serves to strengthen our belief that there is indeed a Ford Bronco hybrid in the works. Silence and inaction would have sent a more ambiguous signal.

That leaves us with two very important questions: when will the Ford Bronco hybrid launch, and what will power it? It seems likely that the hybrid model won't arrive until the 2022 model year, coinciding with its all-new Ranger sibling. The hybrid option could well make its way into both vehicles, and we wouldn't rule our a Bronco Sport Hybrid either since the Ford Escape Hybrid uses the same platform.

As for what will power the Bronco hybrid, the combination of 2.3L EcoBoost with 10-speed automatic and a single electric motor seems to make the most sense, but it's possible Ford might "go for broke" and pair the motor with the 2.7L, making a super torquey, dominant hybrid off-roader. But your guess is as good as ours.