Ford has a new answer for Bronco buyers who want more than a trim level: a customization package with a magenta color story, Method wheels, serialized badging, and a $13,695 price tag. Desert Rising opens for order today, July 27, as the first release in what Ford is calling the Horizon Series, a new line of packages sold through Ford Custom Garage.
The design came out of a trip to Utah. Senior designer Bhavna Mistry and the team drew from the Great Salt Lake’s north arm, which turns a near-neon pink in summer as microorganisms absorb sunlight through pink and purple pigment, and from the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, where the color deepens into berry tones at dawn and dusk. The result is a package built around magenta, an unusual choice for a body-on-frame off-roader with a reputation for mud and rocks. The optional body graphics carry an abstract version of those landscapes on the exterior, and customers can choose whether to run them or leave them off.
Inside, Katzkin-sourced two-tone leather seats pair magenta with black, with matching accent stitching and a corresponding pop of color on the grab handles. A limited-edition serialized center console badge makes each truck individually numbered. The exterior adds Method wheels finished to tie with the magenta center caps, trail sights, and a Bucky badge on the tailgate. Ford is pairing all of it with Sasquatch Package capability, meaning buyers get the lifted suspension, 35-inch tires, and locking differentials alongside the color story.
Desert Rising is built on the Bronco Outer Banks and comes in four body colors: Oxford White, Shadow Black, Avalanche Gray, and Ruby Red. Designers Nahshon Francis and Jim Ransdell worked alongside Mistry on the project. Ford Custom Garage packages install as original equipment manufacturer components through a Ford dealer or an ASE-certified technician, keeping the standard new-vehicle warranty intact. That OEM-grade backing is the pitch Ford keeps making as it scales this program: personalization without the liability risk of aftermarket parts.
Ford says nearly half of its customers want to personalize their vehicles, and the Custom Garage program is designed to make that easier without requiring the buyer to manage the build themselves. The Horizon Series framing suggests Desert Rising is a template, not a one-off. Mistry described it as “the first chapter,” with more packages to follow.
The broader off-road segment gives that strategy some room to run. The midsize mainstream off-road SUV segment expanded 38 percent to 108,902 units in Q1 2026. The Jeep Wrangler led that quarter with 44,461 sales, followed by the Toyota 4Runner at 33,244 and the Bronco at 31,197. The Bronco trails its closest rival by a meaningful gap, and differentiated packages like Desert Rising are one lever Ford can use without touching the base vehicle’s engineering.
At $13,695, Desert Rising is a premium addition to a truck that already occupies the higher end of the segment. Whether buyers choose the body graphics or keep the exterior clean, the Sasquatch hardware and Method wheels are doing real work underneath the color story. Ford is betting those buyers exist in numbers worth building a series around. Desert Rising is the proof of concept.
Ford Bronco Desert Rising Photo Gallery
Source: Ford. Images courtesy of Ford.
