Vaughn Gittin Jr’s Bucking Blue Bronco: #Brocky Takes On The King Of The Hammers
Off-road racing is serious business, so you know that if someone is going to come to an event like King Of The Hammers in a rig that has a name starting with a hashtag, it’s got to be a cut above. Luckily, pro-drifter, MF brand ambassador and world-renowned fun-haver Vaughn Gittin Jr. has a bit of a leg up on your average guy building a rock crawler in his garage. This is the story of Vaughn’s modified Bronco aka #Brocky.
#Brocky made its world debut at the 2016 SEMA Show where Vaughn thrashed it for spectators twice a day at the Ford Out Front display. The rig, aside from just looking cool and like a totally natural extension of Vaughn’s RTR brand, is built on a custom OEM-style chassis by Colorado legends Jimmy’s 4x4. #Brocky utilizes an independent front suspension which, while controversial in some circles and not 100% ideal for rock crawling, more than makes up the difference in the fast desert racing stages of an event like KOH where speeds can exceed 100 mph.
Vaughn’s truck is meant to race in the 4500 class at KOH which means that unlike the top 4400 class, there are a few limitations on what can be run. First, and maybe most importantly, the 4500 class must run on tires no larger than 37 inches and they must be DOT legal. They must have mechanical steering and they can have no more than two 2.5” diameter shocks at each corner, which in #Brocky’s case were provided by King Shocks. Power is unrestricted though so naturally Vaughn placed a call to his friends at Ford Performance who sent over a brand new Z427 crate engine that produces somewhere North of 600 horsepower.
This big beautiful crate engine has to breathe of course, so MagnaFlow helped design a super high performance stainless steel exhaust system that will also minimize its risk of damage on the many strenuous rock crawls in the Johnson Valley. The rest of the build, including the amazing vintage-style Bronco body is sponsored by New Bright R/C which will be building scale replicas of #Brocky for you to pilot in your own mini King Of The Hammers Race.
Part of the inspiration for building #Brocky was Gittin’s excellent top 10 finish at the 2016 event, a first in face for a crossover driver. Once he got the taste for Ultra4 racing, he knew he had to come back and try and win his class. Unfortunately, this year didn’t go quite so well for Vaughn or #Brocky. He managed to roll the truck while attempting a passing maneuver on one of KOH’s many uphill sections. This resulted in a DNF but before the crash, #Brocky looked magnificent and Vaughn appeared to be having the time of his life. We’re almost certain he’ll be back with a vengeance in 2018.
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