Rockstar Bronco


Caffeinated Crawler
Rockstar Energy is turning out some wicked custom rides
You (or your kids) are probably familiar with Rockstar Energy brand beverages and their wide-reaching sponsorship of extreme sports. They have their hands in an exciting mix of athletic events from BMX racing to wake skating, as well as a good share of motorsports. They sponsor motocross riders, rally car drivers, snowcross crazies and a few off road pilots, and the off road branch is what inspires this extreme Bronco.

Starting with the venerable Ford Bronco, the fellows at Rockstar Performance Garage went a little crazy. Gettin’ it up in the air is a set of Rockkrawler coilovers on a three link front suspension with a tried and true four link out back. Dangling from all those links is a pair of Ford 9” housings stuffed with Detroit Lockers turning Nitro Gear axles; Inland Empire drivelines get it all going. Wild Horses was tapped for their heavy duty steering package, from column to box and everything in between. A set of ATX 20” Slab rollers was bolted on after being wrapped in Mickey Thompson 38x15.50R20 Baja MTZ tires. Wilwood discs are at all four corners, boasting six piston calipers in front with four piston units in the rear.

To make those big tires spin, whether on asphalt or in the mud, the high horse was blessed with a 363-inch stroker small block from Ford Racing. Both GM and Ford readers alike should take notice of this engine; it looks like a simple 302 but squirts out 500hp on pump gas and is filled with parts from SCAT, Mahle and Edelbrock. Redline is 6,500RPM, so be ready. A 4R70W automatic has been plugged into a Compushift controller and lies just ahead of the Atlas II transfer case. Aeromotive’s fittings, filters and bulletproof fuel pump were used exclusively so nothing runs dry on the trail. Heatshield products are everywhere on this thing, from high-temp wrap on the exhaust to heat reflective shields on the firewall and underneath. Yes it’s topless, but 500 horses can still melt your shoes to the floorboard. Lucas Oil fluids are filling nearly every cavity and make for trouble-free cruising.

Most of those fluids are kept track of via a VHX analog instrument package, courtesy of yours truly. It’s exciting to see where our direct-fit system will end up next, as you see Broncos built every which-way. Rockstar Garage elected to use the Black Alloy face to coordinate with the no-frills interior comprised of Mastercraft seats and harnesses along with a center console sourced from Wild Horses.

While the stance and drivetrain of this rig are plenty stout, the most aggressive part is the modern, eye-popping appearance of the body. The bright white paint is in stark contrast with the matte-black grille, bumpers and wheels. The lime green beadlocks take it to another level. Check out the lighting components; the headlights really change the look with a star-burst of LEDs where one sealed beam used to reside. A 50” light bar from Bulldog is perched atop the roll cage for additional trail lighting, as well as their reverse lights and rock lighting system as well.
The Rockstar Performance Garage Bronco is a departure from most early Broncos and can be unsettling to traditionalists, but it’s not about fitting in and going with the flow.
