A few years after a splashy new-car launch, companies usually attempt to reignite excitement with some kind of mid-cycle refresh. A different look. New equipment. Maybe some powertrain tweaks to incentivize shoppers. Ford seems to have thrown that convention out the window with the reborn Bronco, which launched for the 2021 model year. The off-road SUV has instead enjoyed consistent upgrades with each model year, plus an all-out Raptor version in 2022. The refresh many expected in 2025 never came, and instead we got… a tri-color special edition honoring off-road race legend Bill Stroppe.
There is a silver lining. Or an orange one, perhaps. Stripe packages in this vein are often toothless and forgettable. The 2025 Ford Bronco Stroppe is neither, packed with a massive suite of off-road hardware, upscale equipment, and arresting visuals. Our week behind the wheel was far from anonymous. In fact, we can’t remember another special edition in the last decade that so effectively amplified the standard vehicle’s attitude and persona.
Maybe it’s a feature of living in the metro Detroit area, but the number of people who offered thumbs up, or who rolled down their windows shout approval from the next lane over, was startling. Every single passenger who came on board responded with wide-eyed, child-like fascination.
No doubt, it was not the rich heritage of Baja race truck builder Bill Stroppe, nor the nod to his special-edition Broncos from the 1970s, that made people’s eyes pop out like a Looney Tunes cartoon. Let’s dig into what constitutes this $77,665 honorary rig.
Specs: 2025 Ford Bronco Stroppe Edition (2-Door)
Price: $77,530/ $77,665(Base/As-tested)
Powertrain: 2.7-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6; 10-speed automatic transmission
Output: 330 hp @ 5250 rpm; 415 lb-ft torque @ 3100 rpm
Layout: Front engine, two-door, four-passenger, four-wheel-drive SUV
Weight: 4700 pounds (est.)
Max Towing: 3500 lbs
Ground Clearance: 11.5 in
Max Water Fording: 33.5 in
Max Approach Angle: 43.2 deg
EPA-rated fuel economy: 17/18/18 mpg (city/hwy/combined)
Competitor: Jeep Wrangler
For 2025, the Stroppe package came exclusively as a two-door. Aiming to evoke the classic 1970s Baja performance package, the modern iteration wears a similar Code Orange, Oxford White, and Atlas Blue scheme. The hood gets a matte black finish for reduced sun glare, and the rear tailgate enjoys the same treatment. And since the Stroppe package shares much with the familiar Sasquatch suite, the SUV stands tall on 17-inch wheels, 35-inch all-terrain tires, and lifted suspension. It also wears the same chunky flared fenders, steel bash plates, and tow hooks.
Inside, the Code Orange motif adorns the center white instrument panel (borrowed from the Heritage edition), grab handles, drive mode dial bezel, and dashboard/seat stitching. The rest of the cabin is standard Ford fare, including some standard-grade plastics. Our prior Bronco experiences, especially off-road, convince us of the interior’s functionality (which includes wiping off dirt smears); but the material quality doesn’t entirely reflect this Bronco’s luxury-like price tag. Niceties, as they are, include leather seating surfaces, a 12-inch LCD screen, a digital instrument cluster, and an upgraded 12-speaker B&O audio system.
Despite the hardcore off-road capability underneath (front and rear locking differentials, sway bar disconnect, HOSS 3.0 suspension), the Stroppe Bronco is a friendly daily driver. The steering wheel feels natural, and the tall driving position and generous glass provide excellent visibility over the squared-off hood. Most impressive is the maneuverability and agility in tight city confines: Credit the versatile suspension, with its Fox internal-bypass dampers, that keep body movements tidy. The suspension suite, borrowed from the Bronco Wildtrack and boasting a podium at the NORRA 1000 desert race, serves up a supple ride whether on bumpy city streets, rutted dirt roads, or treacherous Detroit highways under perpetual construction.
Punch from the twin-turbo, 2.7-liter V-6 is solid; the heavy Bronco wields enough torque to get out of its own way. Though the 10-speed automatic seems to be constantly shifting, ostensibly for optimal fuel efficiency, it rarely misses a beat. Fuel economy is predictably bleak, at 17/18 mpg city/highway, but the large 16.9-gallon fuel tank alleviates the need to frequently visit a pump.
But then, that price. Yikes. A similarly loaded two-door Badlands with the Lux package, Sasquatch kit, HOSS 3.0 suspension, and Raptor-style running boards costs about $10,000 less. A big part of that equation is that the Badlands can’t be fitted with Ford’s V-6, but the 300-hp four-cylinder is no wimp. (And the four-pot is the only way you can get a manual transmission in a Bronco.) On the other end of the spectrum, a full-blown, 418-hp Bronco Raptor costs just $5500 or so more.
We wouldn’t count on the Bronco Stroppe holding its value as a collectible, either, at least not in the near term. Ford isn’t limiting production of this special edition; it’s even expanding the package’s availability to four-door Broncos for 2026. All that, combined with the sheer existence of the more impressive Bronco Raptor, suggests we won’t see the Stroppe edition retaining the same cachet as the rare (450-650 units, estimated) and highly desirable “Baja Bronco” kits built by Stroppe in the 1970s.
Still, the Bronco Stroppe’s style strikes a unique chord, and it’s easy to spend a lot more than $77,000 on a slinky sports car that gets ignored. To a lot of people, the attention alone is worth something. Who needs a full refresh with looks this fresh?
2025 Ford Bronco Stroppe Edition (2-Door)
Highs: Eye-catching looks, surprisingly good ride quality and maneuverability, unquestionable off-road prowess.
Lows: Luxury-car price, and some interior cheapness that doesn’t reflect it.
Takeaway: It would be easy to roll eyes at yet another stripe package, but in the Bronco Stroppe’s case, we can’t avert ours. In a good way!
