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Ford Bronco will finally debut on July 9, OJ's birthday

Following coronavirus-related delays, Ford's long-awaited Bronco officially has a reveal date, and it's the cake day of the SUV's most infamous owner.

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
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Chris Paukert Former executive editor / Cars
Following stints in TV news production and as a record company publicist, Chris spent most of his career in automotive publishing. Mentored by Automobile Magazine founder David E. Davis Jr., Paukert succeeded Davis as editor-in-chief of Winding Road, a pioneering e-mag, before serving as Autoblog's executive editor from 2008 to 2015. Chris is a Webby and Telly award-winning video producer and has served on the jury of the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. He joined the CNET team in 2015, bringing a small cache of odd, underappreciated cars with him.
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Steven Ewing
Chris Paukert
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Ford Bronco leak
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Ford Bronco leak

It's almost here!

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Mark your calendars, truck fans. The 2021 Ford Bronco will finally make its long-awaited debut on Thursday, July 9, the automaker confirmed in an Instagram post on Saturday.

The Bronco had been originally scheduled to debut in April -- Ford had even issued invitations for media to attend the big event. The coronavirus pandemic put the kibosh on those plans, however. While Ford maintained the Bronco would still debut this spring, a summertime debut on July 9 is now official, but it's not without controversy. As it turns out, July 9 is also O.J. Simpson's birthday.

As you likely recall, Simpson, the former superstar NFL running back, became inextricably linked with the Ford Bronco's history after his infamous slow-speed LA police chase on June 17, 1994 in a white 1993 Bronco. The nationally televised chase came in the aftermath of the death of the celebrity's wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

When reached for comment by Roadshow, Ford spokesman Mike Levine said the July 9 date's tie to O.J. "is purely coincidental."  

Watch this: AutoComplete shows you the leaked Ford Bronco

Of course, thanks to a number of leaked photos and details, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect when the 2021 Bronco shows its face. We know the SUV will have a removable roof and doors, and the Bronco will be available in two- and four-door variants. Power will likely come from the 2.3-liter turbo I4 engine found in the , but we've heard a turbo V6 is also a possibility. A seven-speed manual transmission is in the cards, too.

In addition to the standard Bronco, there will be a second, smaller model, the Bronco Sport. While the big-boy Bronco should use body-on-frame architecture, it's rumored the Bronco Sport will use a unibody platform shared with other Ford vehicles.

Ford first confirmed the return of the Bronco nameplate at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show , so to say we've been waiting for this for a while would be a huge understatement. We'll have all the details on July 9.

Ford Bronco R takes on the Baja 1000

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