HOLLY, Michigan — In addition to capturing multiple Formula Drift championships in a Ford Mustang, Vaughn Gittin Jr. has made a name for himself as one of America’s top off-road racers, winning class victories at the Baja 1000 and King of Hammers in a Ford Bronco. The self-described “fun-haver” is one of the most engaging, outsized personalities in motorsports.

My purple and aqua Mystichrome-painted, 37-inch-tire, dirt-kicking Bronco RTR ROVR tester from his Ready to Rock mod shop is infused with Gittin’s DNA.

RTR is responsible for Ford’s forthcoming in-house Bronco and Mustang RTR models, but the North Carolina-based company continue to make its own, dealer-installed mods that are fully covered by Ford warranty. ROVR is one of those packages, and my Bronco Badlands-modified fun-haver was loaded to the gunwale.

The great thing about off-road performance vehicles, of course, is you don’t have to travel all the way to Drummond Island in the Upper Peninsula (117 miles of trails) or legendary Moab, Utah, to be a fun-haver.

I’m a speed freak, but booking a track to exercise a sportscar like, say, the Toyota GR Supra I recently tested, requires planning and a deep wallet.

Not off-roading.

As I headed home from a weekend in Charlevoix on a Sunday afternoon, my craving to take Bronco RTR to its natural habitat could be satisfied by either of two Off-Road Vehicle parks near I-75: The Mounds in Flint or Holly Oaks in Holly. Open until 8 p.m. No reservation required. Cost? $36.25 combined for annual Michigan Department of Natural Resources ORV license/trail permit and $30 for a daily visit. Cheap.

I chose Holly.

I grabbed a trail flag from the gate, then aired down the mighty 37-inch Nitto Recon Grappler tires wrapped around RTR Evo Liquid Bronze wheels from 35 to 19 pounds of air pressure for better grip. Ready to rock.

WAAUURGH! I recommend the Bronco Badlands model equipped with the 2.7-liter, 315-horsepower V-6 engine as your base Bronco to get the RTR Extreme Makeover because:

1) Bronco cabin insulation is poor so you might as well have a good growly, engine soundtrack, and ...

2) The turbocharged V-6 produces a mighty 410 pound-feet of torque to complement the SUV’s suite of off-road toys so I could attack Holly’s terrific North 40. I selected TRAIL TURN ASSIST and spun like a top, then BAJA mode for lewd slides. I slung dirt like a 2-year-old in a sandbox.

After an hour the Mystichrome and Liquid Bronze had disappeared under the Bronco’s natural color: mud. Like your favorite big dog (at 6’9” tall, the RTR is a four-wheeled English mastiff), the Bronco looked forward to being exercised each day.

This is construction season in Michigan as road crews undo the damage of another brutal winter. RTR didn’t care what the roads threw at it.

Driving M-32 through East Jordan in a 50-mph zone, there was a strip of asphalt removed from the road and replaced with stone filler. SLOW read the yellow construction warning sign.

In the Supra I tested the week before, I slowed to 10 mph to keep from knocking out my teeth. In the Bronco I kept it at 50. WHUMP. The 37s and special Fox Elite shocks absorbed it with a shrug. Worried about potholes? Fuhgeddaboudit. The Nitto tires’ sidewalls look like Godzilla’s back — rippled with spiney scales that resist the sharpest road abrasions.

Speaking of harsh surfaces, Gittin & Co. were inspired by the Moon Lunar Rover (thus the ROVR name). Yet thanks to the Bronco’s independent front suspension (and my RTR’s optional black leather seats), the RTR rode smoothly on loooong stretches of I-75. Smooth ... and LOUD.

Lordy, was the Bronco loud. With removable doors and roof panels, the cabin has gaps everywhere. At 80 mph on I-75, my wife called.

“Are you in a wind tunnel?” she asked.

Might as well remove the doors and go au natural. Which I did upon arrival in Charlevoix. Bronco makes it easy with a tool kit that removes two bolts and a wiring plug. Make sure you have a partner to remove the heavy door.

The roof panels, on the other hand, couldn’t clear RTR roof rails added along with massive side MOLLE racks. With five high high-output lights illuminating the landscape, I could’ve loaded the rack and MOLLEs (“offering extensive mounting locations for recovery gear, fuel, water and adventure equipment. Crossbars support rooftop tents” read RTR materials), kept driving another 2½ hours and disappeared into Drummond Island’s trails for a week.

I used it for daily chores on the Lake Michigan coast instead.

Headed north on 55-mph-speed-limit M-31 on 64-mph cruise control south of Charlevoix, I was loaded with Friske’s pizza for a family dinner. A Dodge Durango police cruiser passed me headed south.

WHOOP! WHOOP! Off went his bubble gum machine.

As he executed an 180-degree turn, I pulled off to the right shoulder, innocent as a baby lamb.

“First off, this is the coolest vehicle I’ve pulled over all day,” the smiling officer said, admiring the jacked-up Bronco’s dazzling paint scheme — an homage to a classic 1970s Mustang color of the same name.

“Do you know what the speed limit is here?” he continued.

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “55 mph. Had adaptive cruise set to 64.”

“Nine over is fine,” he replied. “But that’s not what you were doing. I had you at 72, and we calibrate our radars regularly.”

“Doesn’t make any sense.”

“I bet it’s the big tires,” he said.

Yup, that would do it. Manufactured for 33-inch all-terrains, the Bronco's RTR 37s added 12% more speed beyond the speedometer reading. Oops. The cop kindly let me go without points added to my record, and from then I kept my speed to the posted limit. As I passed through a 35-mph zone, the community radar sign read 39 mph.

Note to self, be sure to check with the dealer that vehicle software has been updated for the 37-inch tires.

Off-roading at Michigan ORV parks may be cheap, but my $114,695 RTR ROVR is not. Indeed, Ford’s more capable, racing-shock-shod, 37-inch tire, 415-horse, $83,680 Bronco Raptor is much cheaper (though it doesn’t option roof rails and MOLLE rack). Heck, outfit the Bronco Badlands with Ford’s 35-inch Sasquatch package (which includes off-road goodies like locking diffs) and you’re out the door for $67K. Nice to have choices.

But if you’re a Gittin groupie (you’ll know the RTR by its signature boomerang Daytime Running Lights) and want to go deep in the Outback, ROVR is your fun-haver.

After a day in Holly, you may want to buy a pressure-washer accessory as well.

2025 Ford Bronco RTR ROVR

Vehicle type: Front engine, four-wheel-drive, five-passenger compact SUV

Price: $75,805 Badlands model, including $26,595 RTR ROVR package ($114,695 as tested)

Powerplant: 2.7-liter twin-turbo V-6

Power: 315 horsepower, 410 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.8 seconds (Motor Trend); towing capacity, 3,500 pounds

Weight: 5,563 pounds

Fuel economy: 14 mpg observed; 312-mile range on full tank of gas

Report card

Highs: Off-road beast; outsized Gittin Jr. personality

Lows: Loud inside; Factory Bronco Raptor is cheaper

Overall: 3 stars

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