What Aguttes put up for auction a few days ago is not just any Ford Bronco, but the one that belonged to Gilles Villeneuve, who used it to get around during the years he lived in Montecarlo. Before looking at the history of this car in detail, it must be remembered that the Ford Bronco was never officially imported into Europe and that it is a tough and pure off-roader, with a ladder frame. A different fate will have the new Ford Bronco (still with the separate chassis), the one that has been on sale in the United States since the end of 2021 and will officially arrive on the European market from 2023. Returning to the Canadian driver’s Bronco, it is also worth noting that when it was bought in 1976, the concept of an SUV did not yet exist.
In 1970 the first Range Rover had arrived, but the concept of using an off-roader as a city and everyday car was still a long way off. So Gilles Villeneuve was in a certain sense a forerunner, given that he used a rustic off-road to move around in an exclusive context scenario such as that of the Principality of Monaco. The Bronco of number 27, moreover, was rather particular, given that it had been elaborated and that probably some works had been carried out by Gilles himself. Considering his passion for mechanics and speed, this shouldn’t be surprising. However, this Ford Bronco was purchased in 1976 and was used almost daily until Villeneuve’s death in May 1982.
The first noticeable change is the “wide” body kit which widens the wheel arches, behind which the suspension with double shock absorbers is hidden. The fuel tank is also double, also due to the increased thirst for petrol of the 4.9 V8 engine, which was tuned to deliver something more than the original 125 HP. Even the gearbox is not the standard one, given that the traditional automatic has been replaced with a sportier 4-speed gearbox made by Doug Hash’s Drag Racing, a former driver. The list of changes continues with the Recaro sports seats, with the three-spoke steering wheel and with the additional instrumentation, while on the outside there is a mechanical winch for off-roading. All this for the modest sum of 135,150 euros, which is what the new owner paid to win the auction.
