BATTLE OF THE BADASS OFF-ROADERS

BIG-TIME OFF-ROAD ABILITY. AND 400-PLUS HORSEPOWER. WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?

- MIGUEL CORTINA

Driving from Los Angeles to the picturesque town of Lone Pine, California, we're having a deep think about what led us to this point. Who in the world approved dropping a 470-hp V-8 into the Jeep Wrangler to create the Rubicon 392? And at the same time, who at Ford should we credit for the 418-hp Bronco Raptor? The basic vehicles beneath these badass variants are already massively capable off-roaders, vehicles able to take you places few others can. Why the need for absurd power? Neither of these SUVS makes much sense-frankly, they're preposterous, and we mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

Of course, putting them on showroom floors involved much more than simply bolting in beefy engines. Both the Wrangler Rubicon 392 and the Bronco Raptora.k.a. the Braptor-underwent rigorous and thorough development before emerging into the wild. Their chassis were modified to deliver additional strength and even higher boulder-bashing prowess while also making them supremely fast on- and off-road. The Bronco Raptor, for example, is a whopping 10 inches wider than its regular sibling, and the 392 has a completely different suspension setup than the standard Wrangler. We spent two days pitting these beasts against each other on sand dunes and technical trails, as well as on twisty roads and highways, to find out which absurd-and absurdly fun-SUV reigns supreme.

It might not feel like it, but the Bronco versus Wrangler rivalry is a recent one, having only kicked off in earnest once the Ford was brought out of mothballs and reconstituted as a direct competitor in 2021. Even so, it already feels like Mustang versus Camaro, BMW versus Mercedes, or Ferrari versus Lamborghini-a partisan battle for the ages.