The upcoming Ford Maverick will not be a traditional body-on-frame vehicle, rather a uni-body compact pickup truck
Ford is currently working on a new pickup truck, which will be placed below the Ranger and the F-150. The new pickup will reportedly be based on the unibody architecture of the recently launched Ford Bronco Sport. The name of the upcoming pickup has been confirmed as ‘Maverick’ in a new leaked image.
Just a few days earlier, an image of a truck’s tailgate with the letters ‘MAVERICK’ surfaced on the interweb, fuelling speculations that Ford is indeed developing a new pickup truck. We have already seen spy pictures on the internet a few years ago, showing a mystery vehicle wearing heavy camouflage. Reports had suggested that this was Ford’s new compact pickup truck, disguised as a van to throw speculations off-track.
According to a source, the Ford Maverick will initially be launched as a 4-door pickup, with a 2-door version being introduced later. The bed size of the truck will be fairly small, and the vehicle will be between two feet and two-and-a-half feet shorter than the Ford Ranger. The source also mentions that the engine will be a 2.0-litre, naturally aspirated, inline-4 petrol mill, capable of generating 162 hp. This engine currently does duty on the Ford Transit van.
As seen in the spy pictures, the Ford Maverick will have butch and macho styling, which is the typical design language of pickup trucks. The front grille can be seen though the veil, and it seems quite large in proportion to the rest of the face. Sadly, the camouflage is too thick for us to notice any significant design detail.
We can see the tailpipes though, and the twin-exhaust design seems a little too aggressive for a modest compact truck. Perhaps there might be multiple engine options available, which would be quite a sensible choice for Ford. These might include a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol or a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel. We’ll have to wait for the official unveiling to know the Maverick’s specifications.
While the upcoming Ford Maverick will share its architecture with the Bronco Sport, it won’t be a part of the Bronco family. The Bronco line-up will comprise of premium vehicles, whereas the Maverick will be an entry-level product. There, however, is a possibility that the Maverick will be marketed as a lifestyle truck, and not a proper commercial vehicle. The vehicle is expected to be revealed either during the end of 2021 or early 2022.
Source: Motor1and Maverickchat
