New Ford Bronco May Get a Retractable Cloth Roof Option
Patent reveals a dual-layer cloth cover that doubles as an awning.
Recently, we found a patent for removable doors that we’re pretty sure Ford plans to offer on the new Bronco. The two-door-pickup-like shape of the vehicle shown even appears to be a nod to the Bronco II, even if it doesn’t include much detail. But according to a recent report, the Bronco will come with a removable roof as well as removable doors. After doing some more digging, we may have found a patent that shows Ford’s plan for that, as well.
If this had been a simple patent for an SUV with removable roof panels, we probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to it. Even if Ford had developed some clever mechanism or method for removing them, the patent itself probably wouldn’t have shown anything all that novel. But these drawings reveal something much more interesting. Assuming this feature is intended for the Bronco, it looks like owners will have the option of using a removable cloth cover once the hard top is removed. And instead of a single sunshade, there will be two layers — one made out of mesh and another made from cloth.
