How Ford and outdoor retailer Filson teamed up to design a firefighting version of the ultra-popular Bronco

• The innovative design process for Ford's new Bronco SUV led the Detroit carmaker to establish a partnership with Filson, a famous Seattle outfitter.
• The result is the Bronco + Filson Wildland Fire Rig, a concept vehicle that wears US Forest Service green livery and is packed with firefighting gear, and that has numerous Filson-sourced details.
• Ford and Filson plan to sell Bronco-branded Filson gear to raise funds for reforestation efforts after devastating wildfires in the US.
• The concept SUV will also serve as a model for actual firefighting vehicles.

Last month, Ford and Seattle-based outdoor clothing retailer Filson unveiled a special concept vehicle based on the wildly popular new Bronco SUV. Called the Bronco + Filson Wildland Fire Rig, the vehicle pays tribute to the US Forest Service's wildland firefighters, who in 2020 have seen their ranks called up to battle over seven million acres of blazes.

The Bronco nameplate was dramatically revived this year, as a separate off-roading brand of three vehicles. According to Ford, nearly 200,000 pre-orders have come in for the SUV, available as a two-door, four-door, and in a less rugged Sport trim.

The advertising tagline for Bronco is "Built Wild," and Filson, the American outfitter, figured in the development of both that attitude and the vehicle itself.

Bronco was developed using storyboards rather than design sketches, with the objective of gathering ideas about how potential customers would use the SUV.

A brand started in 1903 meets one founded in 1897

Dave Rivers, Bronco's marketing manager, told Business Insider that this process led to C.C. Filson of Seattle, WA, founded in 1897 and famous for its tough canvas-and-leather duffels and robust wool and waxed-cotton coats. The brand has become more prominent in the fashion world since the mid-2000s, when it was acquired by a private-equity firm. It was sold in 2012 to Bedrock Manufacturing, which also owns Shinola, the Detroit-based watch company.

"The designers asked, 'If we were an outdoor gear brand with the trust and respect of Bronco, what would we be?'" Rivers said. "They always came back to Filson."

That piqued the interest of Ford's marketing department.

"We began to study Filson," Rivers said. "And we found more similarities. So we reached out, struck up a conversation, and asked them, 'What do you guys think?'"

Meanwhile, Filson was engaged in its own exploration of its brand's DNA.

"If Filson were a whiskey, what would it be?" Doug Thielen, Filson's marketing chief, said, characterizing a typical bull session at the company. "If Filson were a vehicle, what would it be?"

The answer was a vehicle that could access the wild.

"It was kind of a no-brainer," Thielen said of the Bronco project that resulted from the Ford team's outreach.

Going beyond the usual concept car

Concept vehicles are often destined for the auto show circuit, where they provide some visual thrills amid cars and trucks that consumers might actually be able to buy. But the Bronco + Filson has a different mission: The companies will work together to raise money to support National Forest Foundation's reforestation programs, and to promote fire prevention awareness.

The vehicle also looks nothing like a futuristic dream car for a reason: its extreme functionality as a back-country four-door should make it a model for vehicles that firefighters will actually use.

The Forest Service has a history with Broncos, so the concept wears a shade of green that has appeared on many vehicles for the agency. The Filson touches include canvas door bolsters and armrests, with seats upholstered in black quilted fabric of the sort that the outfitter uses for its jackets. There's also a top that can be rolled open and held in place by straps made from Filson leather.

The concept's roof rack is loaded with authentic firefighting gear: shovels, axes, fire hoses, and chainsaws.

Bronco has been a home run for Ford in 2020, capturing more attention than even an all-new F-150 pickup truck. And for Rivers, the Filson collaboration just adds to the buzz.

"As a brand, we're built to take you anywhere you want to go and never let you down," he said. "And this partnership just feels so right."