Last week, SoFlo Jeeps unveiled a new Bronco build nicknamed the Stallion that takes Ford's off-roading SUV and adds upgrades like a slantback roof design, lift kit, custom wheels shod in 37-inch tires, and optional power packages. Finding a new full-sized Bronco—not the Escape sibling Sport version—has become nearly impossible due to demand and Covid delays. Many buyers also leave a Ford dealer with plans already in mind to install aftermarket springs, shocks, wheels, and tires anyway, so buying one from a company like SoFlo with the work already done makes a fair amount of sense.
That slantback roof, though, also makes the Stallion more unique than just another Bronco with off-roading goodies bolted on. I already came away entirely impressed by an insane Jeep Gladiator conversion from SoFlo's sister company, Apocalypse 6x6, with 40-inch tires and a Hellcat Hemi dropped in for good measure. Hoping to learn more about the Stallion's design and engineering, I reached out to SoFlo Jeeps and Apocalypse 6x6 founder, engineer, and designer Joe Ghattas to learn more about what goes into this beefed-up Bronco build.
Building A Better Bronco
From the factory, Ford clearly intended the new Bronco to challenge Jeep's long-tenured Wrangler as the off-roading community's number-one vehicle of choice. Features like locking differentials, disconnecting sway bars, and convertible roof panels all help in that goal, though Jeep fans critical of the Bronco always point out that where the Wrangler and Gladiator employ two solid axles for better articulation on the trail, Ford decided to equip the Bronco with an independent front suspension setup. But Ghattas likes the IFS because it makes the Stallion much more pleasant in town.
"It drives incredible," he told me. "It actually has a regular car feel to it. Of course, I’m very loyal and love the Jeeps and Gladiators with the solid front axle because it performs amazingly off-road. On-road driving, though, the Bronco has it beat."
A New Slantback Design
And the truth remains that most Wranglers and Broncos—even when fully built—don't see the trail too often. Still, the convertible top option makes for a fun city lifestyle, too.
"My favorite look for the Bronco is with the top off," Ghattas said. "But with the top on, it’s not a very attractive vehicle to me."
To be fair, the Bronco's over-square design looks pretty enormous with the top on, especially compared to a Wrangler which feels smaller despite roughly the same overall width measurements (thanks to larger fenders and a narrower cabin). I asked Ghattas how he came up with the new slantback design.
"What do you like about it with the top off?" Ghattas asked rhetorically, in response. "We see that curvature of the roll bars, so we just traced that exact same outline and made the top to follow that look."
I pointed out the similarity to a Hummer H1 that Arnold Schwarzenegger used to drive around West LA and he agreed, but pointed out a few details that make the Stallion's roofline unique.
"If you look at the rear profile of the vehicle and how it tapers up," Ghattas said, "I followed that curvature all the way around and then we added a piece at the top that maybe, in the future, can hold an extra brake light."
Refining SoFlo's Products
To install the Stallion's slantback, SoFlo essentially removes the entire convertible top and replaces it with a single unit that stretches all the way to the front windshield. But this design refines previous bed covers and tops that Ghattas and his team have built in the past.
"This is different than our Jeep tops," he explained. "Instead of a one-piece top, this is two pieces, so there’s an outside layer and an inside layer that are formed together with about three inches of insulation between the two layers. So it’s a lot quieter than our Jeep top. And the finish on the inside is a whole lot nicer because it’s a completely separate piece."
Much like the Apocalypse 6x6 I drove, which improved upon the Gladiator's plastic roof panels with leather trim, Ghattas offers the Stallion with similar appointments.
Marine-Grade Interior Leatherwork
And speaking of leather, SoFlo also works over the seats, center console, and doors using marine-grade leather in a King Ranch-style design with diamond stitching and contrasting raw tones. The overall look goes straight to the Bronco's wild-west image, though now, on a warm summer day in Florida with the roof off, a few drops of rain won't ruin the Stallion's upholstery.
Power Upgrades, Of Course
Of course, a company known for swapping Corvette and Hellcat engines into Jeeps couldn't just leave the Stallion with a 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6 under the hood. Not that Ford's turbo engines can't keep up—just look at the GT supercar's EcoBoost—but a big off-roader with 37-inch knobbies deserves a big V8, so Ghattas decided to drop in a supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote mill cranking out 785 horsepower. I asked if cramming the blown V8 into the Bronco's engine bay presented any challenges, knowing that Ford already unveiled the factory Bronco DR desert racer powered by a naturally aspirated V8.
"Ford actually keeps a lot of consistency in all their motors," Ghattas replied, "So mechanically, it’s a lot easier. The hardware component is a breeze to make it fit in that engine compartment."
"We’ve stuffed bigger things into smaller places before, like the Hellcat into the JL."
Much like the Hellcat-swapped Gladiator I drove received a Ram 3500's transmission to handle the additional torque, the Bronco's 10-speed automatic gets swapped out for a heavy-duty version on Stallions equipped with the supercharged Coyote.
New Partnerships With Ford
The complexities of engineering and building a beefed-up Bronco seem well within the scope of SoFlo's past projects, so the real challenge I wanted to comprehend came down to where Ghattas manages to find these Broncos in the first place. He'll happily convert a customer's own Bronco to spec but also offers Stallions fully finished.
"We are getting them anywhere and everywhere we can," he laughed. "We've been just reaching out to every Ford dealership in the multiverse, trying to get our hands on Broncos. And it all boils down to this: I’m paying too much for them. But that’s how I’m getting them! "
While hunting for more Broncos, Ghattas ended up making a new partnership with a Ford dealer about an hour north in West Palm Beach—and, it turns out, opening up a new SoFlo Jeeps branch right next door in the dealership's old facilities.
“They want us to 6x6 a few F-150s and Raptors, F-250s," Ghattas revealed, "Those will all be coming down the pipeline soon."
Since I drove the Jeep 6x6, Apocalypse also cranked out a few Ram TRX-based 6x6 conversions known as Warlords. But the Broncos might very well sell even better given pent-up demand—not to mention the driving dynamics of that independent front suspension. All in, a Stallion with the slantback roof, suspension mods, wheels, tires, and interior runs $89,000.
That's not bad compared to the massive markups currently charged by dealers, which can reach well over $100,000 for a stock Bronco! Of course, adding the supercharged Coyote V8 ratchets the sticker up a bit more, to right around $150,000. But Ghattas has the ultimate sales pitch to justify that price tag:
"We built this Bronco so that OJ Simpson could have actually gotten away."
Sources: soflojeeps.com, apocalypse6x6.com, ford.com, and jeep.com.