It seems Bronco will inherit Ranger’s four-banger.

An entire chapter – no, an entire book – could be written using the various and sundry speculation about Ford’s upcoming Bronco. Ever since the Blue Oval teased us with its off-road return, there’s been no shortage of digital ink spilled in this guessing game. Today, we’ve going to spill some more.

Playing around with the parts lookup tools provided at automotive stores can be enlightening, as it turns out. This digital table, normally just used for identifying the type of spark plugs one should buy for their family whip, contained an entry for the 2021 Ford Bronco.

As shown by these images snapped with my smartphone (sorry for the glare), it seems like the conjecture about Bronco being powered by the Ranger engine is spot on. The lookup tool, freely accessed in the spark plug aisle at a Canadian Tire, shows one engine option for the 2021 Ford Ranger – a 2.3L 4-cylinder engine displacing 140 cubic inches.

Those are the precise measurements of the current Ranger mill, one which makes 270 horsepower and 310lb.-ft of torque. It’s DOHC valvetrain has 4 valves per cylinder and a 10:1 compression ratio, in case you’ve forgotten.

For those not #blessed with a Canadian Tire in their country, know that the north-of-the-border nationwide chain is like a mix of Autozone and Lowe’s with a bit of WalMart thrown in for good measure. It is said that if one could bottle its ambient smell and put it into an air freshener, Canadian ex-pats would buy them by the truckload.

While it isn’t exactly the first time we’ve speculated the Bronco will have a 2.3L EcoBoost under its hood, it is neat to see an apparent confirmation of such in a parts lookup tool for spark plugs. For what its worth, the same information was listed in a section for wiper blades but why one needs to select the engine size when buying wiper blades remains a mystery.

Meanwhile, the Bronco itself shouldn’t be a mystery for long. We are hopefully now closer to its actual reveal than its initial announcement all those years ago.