Iconic Big Oly Ford Bronco Brings Nearly $2 Million At Auction

Ford has been successful in automotive racing in all forms going back for decades. One of the most successful racing trucks to ever run the iconic Baja 1000 was a classic Ford Bronco. The classic Bronco was dubbed "Big Oly" due to its Olympia Beer sponsorship and ran the Baja 1000 in 1971 and 1972. The truck won both of those events and also won the Baja 500 and Mint 400 in 1973.

It's one of the most iconic off-road racing Bronco trucks ever built and was driven by Parnelli Jones and Bill Stroppe. Over the weekend, a Mecum auction held in Indianapolis wrapped up, and Big Oly was one of the headliner vehicles. The iconic racing truck sold for a whopping $1.87 million price tag.

Considering how valuable classic first-generation Broncos are right now and the significant racing pedigree of the truck, it's no surprise it sold for such considerable money. Big Oly has a 390 horsepower V-8 engine under the hood and tipped the scales at 2700 pounds.

One of its most iconic racing features was the open cockpit and roof over the top fashioned into a giant wing. Big Oly was built around a chrome-moly space frame with a body made from aluminum and fiberglass. The 390 horsepower V-8 was a 351 cubic inch forward Windsor. The racing truck also had a twin-I-Beam front suspension with a trailing arm design that was state-of-the-art at the time.

The iconic roof wing was a workaround to skirt the rules in place at the time. The truck certainly looks fantastic, appearing to have been completely restored at some point in its life to like-new condition. Who exactly the new owner of Big Oly is remains a mystery.