Tuning company Hennessey Performance has started assembling its custom take on the Ford Bronco with off-road upgrades and half a thousand horsepower under the hood. The pricing starts from $28,950 for the modifications alone.
The base SUV is the Bronco Raptor, which gets new bumpers, LED DRLs optimized for poor visibility conditions and a rugged body kit. Stock wheels make room for 10-spoke light alloy rims designed in-house, and all-season mats appear in the cabin along with the tuner’s logos on the headrests and the console.
The stock three-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder engine gets a better intercooler and a special ECU along with some other performance-friendly mods. As a result, it starts churning out 507 PS (500 hp / 373 kW) and 745 Nm (550 lb-ft) of torque at the crank – considerably more than its biggest rival, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, can manage.
The hardcore Bronco VelociRaptor 500 was announced a few months ago, but the production only started this week following a long series of tests in Colorado mountains. Hennessey said it had to make sure the off-roader managed the added strain well enough. The tuning package is being offered with a warranty valid for 3 years or 58,000 km (36,000 miles) of use, whichever comes first.