Ford Made This Bubble-Door Bronco Concept in 1980

Concept cars used to be whimsical, darnit. More often than not, today’s concepts are just the first stage of a marketing effort for new production models. But in decades past, automakers seemed more willing to try out different ideas, regardless of whether they’d ever reach the road or not. Take, for example, the time Ford threw every 1980s design element it could think of at the Bronco.

Unveiled in the first year of that decade, the Bronco Montana Lobo concept aimed to give Ford’s off-roader a futuristic look. That future never materialized; after its public debut, the Montana Lobo went largely unmentioned by Ford until the automaker recently posted about it on Instagram.

According to the original press release (which you can find in the excellent Ford Heritage Vault), the Montana Lobo is based on a “pre-1977” Bronco frame, meaning the first generation. Ford introduced the second-generation Bronco for the 1978 model year, and had just launched the third gen when the Montana Lobo was unveiled as one of Ford’s exhibits for the upcoming 1981 auto show circuit. This was back when auto shows were relevant.

“The Lobo represents more than a show vehicle,” explained William H. Cramer, manager of Ford’s Advanced and International Design Center, which developed the concept alongside Italian styling house Ghia. “It’s a collection of ideas and designs that may be used in future Ford four-wheel vehicles.”

Those ideas and designs included plexiglass bubble doors that could be removed and replaced with webbing, T-tops, integrated storage compartments in the sides of its mini-pickup bed, and side exhausts neatly integrated with the running boards. A roll bar with lights and whip antenna were obligatory accessories on any 1980s off-roader, while the winch embedded in the front bumper is an important add-on regardless of the time period.

Inside, the dashboard design is shared with the 1980 Ford Thunderbird and houses a digital instrument cluster that was a novel feature at the time. So were the black vinyl seats, which featured heating and ventilation—a common feature today, but not in the early 1980s. The bed has fold-down seats and is lined with woven hemp, while the tailgate doubles as a ramp for loading and unloading cargo.

The Montana Lobo was powered by a 5.0-liter V8 connected to an automatic transmission and four-wheel drive, which turned all-terrain tires mounted to 15-inch wheels. At 188.9 inches long, 75.4 inches wide, and 77.4 inches wide, the Montana Lobo was longer and taller than a base Bronco two-door of today, but a lot narrower. Its 107.3-inch wheelbase was also about seven inches longer than that of a current two-door Bronco.

Ford never did give the production Bronco plexiglass bubble doors and a hemp-lined pickup bed, which makes the Montana Lobo concept all the more interesting. The Blue Oval automaker’s collaboration with Ghia is primarily associated with road cars like the Probe series, so it’s cool to see some of that same design chutzpah applied to a Bronco. And with the current Bronco leaning hard into heritage, it’s unlikely that Ford will do another futuristic take on it anytime soon.

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