'The Wild Returns': Ford To Unveil New Ford Bronco On O.J. Simpson's Birthday

The Ford Bronco, a vehicle with infamous ties to the O.J. Simpson case, is returning to production lines — fittingly on O.J. Simpson’s birthday.

The car manufacturer is unveiling the new 2021 Ford Bronco on July 9, which just happens to be the birthday of disgraced football star Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson.

As many know, a white Ford Bronco infamously ferried Simpson during a highly publicized 1994 car chase. During the chase, Simpson was in a state of distress after being accused of murdering his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Millions tuned in to live television to watch Simpson as he hid in the back of the Bronco while his friend and former teammate Al Cowlings led police on a chase down California’s I-405. Even though the historical chase helped sales of the model, it had already been on the decline and it was discontinued by 1996, USA Today reported in 2014.

O. J. Simpson sits in Superior Court in Los Angeles on December 8, 1994. Photo: Getty Images

Now, it’s coming back. 

“The Wild Returns,” Ford tweeted on Saturday, along with the release date and the hashtags #FordBronco and #BuiltWild.

When it was pointed out that its return fell on Simpson’s birthday, Ford North America Product Communications Manager Mike Levine told the Detroit Press that the date is "purely coincidental."

But they have no plans of changing the date.

"We're going to reveal Bronco just like we said we would on July 9," Levine told the paper.

Motorists wave as police cars pursue the Ford Bronco (white, R) driven by Al Cowlings, carrying fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson, on a 90-minute slow-speed car chase June 17, 1994 on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Getty Images

Simpson was acquitted in 1995 in the killing of his ex-wife and Goldman. Two years later though, he was found liable for their deaths in civil court. Since then, he has been unable to stay out of the headlines. In 1999, police were called multiple times to Simpson’s home to settle disputes between him and his then-girlfriend, Christie Prody.

In 2001, a motorist accused Simpson of attacking them during a road rage incident, which led to a well-publicized trial where Simpson was found not guilty. 

Most recently, Simpson, now 72, spent nine years behind bars for a 2008 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction. On the night of September 13, 2007, Simpson and a group of men entered a room in the Palace Station hotel of Las Vegas, Nevada. Sports memorabilia dealer Bruce Fromong testified that they broke into his hotel room and stole sports memorabilia at gunpoint.

Simpson’s original sentence was 33 years but he received parole for good behavior and was released in 2017.