Earlier this year, reports surfaced about Ford’s 2021 Bronco having removable doors that mirror the distinct style of the Jeep Wrangler.
Hardly anything is known about the highly anticipated model, however, save for a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that sheds light into the Blue Oval’s “selective door removal” feature.
According to documents filed with the agency, Ford is working on a new system of removing doors that seem to be better than the ones currently used by Jeep. Unlike the door setup used by Jeep which requires the removal of screws and bolts to dislodge the door, Ford’s new Bronco will have a set of latches. Once the latches are disengaged, the doors of the Bronco can be easily removed.
This way, owners do not run the risk of dropping and potentially damaging the windshield or other parts of the vehicle when trying to remove the doors, which can be the case with the Jeep Gladiator. Simply disengaging the door latches also prevent the possibility of missing loose parts.
The latches can be moved to its “unlocked position” which then enables the owners to dislodge the doors from the body. And to ensure the doors do not inadvertently disengage mid-drive, Ford also came up with a series of locks and fail-safes for the Bronco.
As stated in the patent, “the disclosure relates generally to a latch that can block a door of a vehicle from being removed when the vehicle is not in an upright position.”
Based on the photos included in the patent, the Bronco’s latching mechanism is connected to the door by a small rod which, when pulled down, disengages the latch and allows for the removal of the hinges. Apart from the latch, the electrical wiring that powers the locks and windows would also have to be removed when dismantling the doors.
Right now, it’s still not clear whether the 2021 Bronco will also have a removable roof panel and windshield. Ford is expected to release more information about the model in the coming months before its rumored debut in the latter part of 2020.
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