This is the original prototype of the Saleen-built “Big Oly Edition” Ford Bronco, developed as a modern homage to the legendary Parnelli Jones-raced, Baja 1000-winning “Big Oly” race truck.
This is the Bronco that was used to develop what would become the officially-sanctioned Big Oly Edition. The package included an uprated 375 bhp twin-turbo V6, Saleen Racecraft mid-travel suspension, Olympia Beer livery, and a slew of other changes to the donor Bronco inside, outside, and underneath.
Fast Facts: The Saleen “Big Oly Edition” Bronco Prototype
- Saleen’s Big Oly Edition Bronco was conceived as a modern tribute to Parnelli Jones’ famous Olympia Beer-sponsored desert racer, which won the Baja 1000 in 1971 and 1972. Saleen previewed the idea in 2020, but the finished production package was not formally announced until December 2024.
- The modern Big Oly starts with a two-door Ford Bronco powered by the twin-turbo 2.7 liter EcoBoost V6. Saleen recalibrates it to a claimed 375 bhp and 500 lb ft, while Racecraft suspension, BVS technology, revised bumpers, composite bodywork, auxiliary lighting, and 37 inch tires were all added.
- The package also adds distinctive Big Oly styling, including the gold-and-white Olympia Beer-inspired livery, forged carbon grille trim, vented fenders, a heat-extractor hood, rear spoiler, MagnaFlow exhaust, and KC HiLiTES lighting. Inside are leather and Alcantara seats, Saleen embroidery, body-color trim, and an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel.
- The 2023 Bronco shown here is the original Saleen Big Oly Edition prototype, serial number 23-001P, with just 110 miles on the clock. It has the full appearance and performance treatment, including the 375 bhp V6, Saleen suspension, 37 inch Nitto tires, Black Rhino wheels, and more.
History Speedrun: The Saleen “Big Oly Edition” Bronco
Saleen Automotive showed renderings of a planned “Big Oly” Ford Bronco in July of 2020, within days of Ford revealing the sixth-generation Bronco on July the 13th. The production Big Oly Bronco wasn’t announced until December of 2024 after a significant period of development designed to make the Bronco faster, better handling, more capable on and off road, and (arguably) even better looking.
This is the original Big Oly, it’s a Bronco-based 4×4 desert racer built for Parnelli Jones. Dick Russell started the build, Bill Stroppe’s race shop finished it, then Jones and Stroppe drove it to back-to-back wins in the Baja 1000 in 1971 and 1972. It’s still one of the most iconic American desert racing trucks ever made. Images courtesy of Mecum.
The Big Oly name comes from a Bronco-based 4×4 desert racer built for Parnelli Jones. Dick Russell started the build, Bill Stroppe’s race shop finished it, then Jones and Stroppe drove it to back-to-back wins in the Baja 1000 in 1971 and 1972. It’s still one of the most iconic American desert racing trucks ever made.
Underneath its Bronco-shaped body was a chrome moly space frame powered by a 351 cubic inch (5.8 liter) Windsor V8. Its sponsor, the Olympia Brewing Company, supplied both the “Big Oly” nickname and the gold livery.
Jones owned the truck from new until 2021, when it sold at Mecum’s Indianapolis auction, the hammer fell at $1.7 million USD, and the buyer’s fee took the total to $1.87 million USD, making it the most expensive Bronco ever sold, albeit a silhouette vehicle.
Saleen and Jones had a connection, having worked together in 2007, when Saleen built a Mustang special edition as a tribute to Jones’s 1970 Trans-Am season, when he won five races in Bud Moore’s Mustang and Ford took the manufacturers’ championship. Cars 001 and 003 were in Jones’s own collection, and both crossed the block at the same Indianapolis sale as Big Oly.
In 2020 Saleen issued a press release describing an upcoming Bronco as a concept, “available soon,” but the internal development process took the better part of four years. This wasn’t to be just a paint job and some decals slapped on an otherwise stock Bronco, it was designed to be a significant performance upgrade by just about every measurable metric.
Each modern Saleen Big Oly starts out as a two-door Bronco production truck powered by Ford’s twin-turbo 2.7 liter EcoBoost V6, which Ford rates from the factory at 330 bhp and 415 lb ft of torque on premium fuel. Saleen’s calibration takes that to 375 bhp and a stonking 500 lb ft, gains of 45 bhp and 85 lb ft respectively – torque is obviously where the tune does most of its work.
Underneath you’ll find Saleen’s Racecraft mid-travel suspension, it’s a five-link design using patented “BVS” which refers to the company BVS Technology, a suspension specialist in Temecula, California, founded in 2021.
BVS’s Virtual Link Suspension replaces the conventional front A-arm layout with a patented virtual pivot axis and a floating shock link. At the time of the Big Oly release, the company claimed the BVS system had covered more than 20,000 race miles without a single suspension failure.
Above Video: This interview with Parnelli Jones dives into his history with the Baja 1000 and with the original Big Oly.
Up front, the truck has a new bumper with an LED light array, and an integrated skid plate that improves the approach angle. It has a forged carbon grille surround with Baja Blue accents, composite fenders, and a roof-mounted light bar,
The front and rear fenders both now have integrated vents, the rear bumper was redesigned for clearance, and the hood has dual heat-extractor vents. Saleen added KC HiLiTES lighting, a new rear-exit exhaust system and an adjustable roof wing that it says takes its cue from classic desert racers.
Inside you’ll find leather seats with Alcantara inserts and an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel with body-color accents. It rides on chunky 37 inch off-road tires to ensure it can get the job done when the asphalt gives way to the dirt.
Olympia Beer dates to 1896, its logo appears on the Big Oly truck under a licensing agreement, and most buyers wanted the livery, but buyers who wanted to skip the gold and white could also order the truck in Saleen Colorlab paint instead.
The 2023 Saleen “Big Oly Edition” Prototype Shown Here
This 2023 Ford Bronco is the original Saleen Big Oly Edition prototype, it’s serial number 23-001P, built as the first modern tribute to Parnelli Jones’ Baja 1000-winning “Big Oly” race truck on the modern Bronco platform.
It’s now showing just 110 miles on the odometer, and as you would expect, it’s finished in the classic gold-and-white Olympia Beer-inspired competition livery, along with a Saleen grille, vented heat-extractor hood, high-clearance front and rear fenders, and that prominent rear spoiler.
It rides on Black Rhino Solid wheels with 37 inch Nitto Recon Grappler tires and it has that extensive KC HiLiTES auxiliary lighting package. Power comes from the twin-turbocharged 2.7 liter EcoBoost V6, modified by Saleen to produce a claimed 375 bhp and 500 lb ft of torque and paired with an automatic transmission.
Chassis changes include Saleen’s Racecraft five-link rear suspension, a long-travel front suspension with coilover dampers and tubular control arms, and a MagnaFlow performance exhaust.
This 2023 Ford Bronco is the original Saleen Big Oly Edition prototype, it’s serial number 23-001P, built as the first modern tribute to Parnelli Jones’ Baja 1000-winning “Big Oly” race truck on the modern Bronco platform.
Inside, the Bronco has black leather upholstery with Alcantara inserts, Saleen-embroidered headrests, an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, and body-color dashboard and steering-wheel trim. An auxiliary control panel operates the exterior lighting system, while roof storage bags and a door-and-roof tool kit are included.
It’s now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in late-September, and it comes with a clean CarFax. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Mecum
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
