Ford returns to Everest BaseCamp

FORD Australia has revived its BaseCamp nameplate with the limited-edition variant returning to the Everest large SUV range “by popular demand”, joined by a new rear-wheel-drive version of the Sport.

Due in showrooms as of December, the BaseCamp will pick up exactly where it left off in offering customers around $6000 worth of extra off-road equipment for a $2200 premium over its Trend donor car and be available in both 3.2L ($63,090 plus on-road costs) and 2.0L ($64,590) guises.

The extra features included on the BaseCamp extend to a black 76mm-diameter nudge bar, genuine Ford LED light bar, snorkel and towbar, black roof-mounted carry bars, Pioneer platform and a genuine Sunseeker awning with installation all included in the price.

To help distinguish the BaseCamp from a custom modified Everest, the limited-run variants also brandish ‘BaseCamp’ decals on both front doors, grey grille, front bumper skid, rear bumper skid, fender vents and wheels.

Just 450 examples will be available with the split between 3.2L and 2.0L versions currently unknown.

No mechanical changes have been made to the BaseCamp save for the above additions, meaning its engines continue to churn out 143kW/470Nm (turbocharged 3.2-litre five-cylinder diesel) and 150kW/500Nm (twin-turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel).

The same cannot be said for the Sport however which has gained a new rear-wheel-drive variant to serve as a higher-grade alternative to the lower-tier Ambiente and Trend RWDs.

Coming with all the same standard kit as the AWD version, the Sport twins can be identified by their black exterior features including 20-inch alloy wheels, mesh grille, front and rear bumpers, tailgate applique, roof rails and exterior mirrors while ‘Sport’ decals adorn the tail-gate and flanks of the car.

The Sports also brandish a 3D ‘Everest’ badge on the bonnet and are only available in 2.0L guise.

“We know the travel habits of Australians are changing in the wake of COVID-19, and more and more Aussies will be looking for road trip adventures,” Ford Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Andrew Birkic said.

“Now, with the Everest BaseCamp Special Edition and Everest Sport in rear wheel drive, we’re offering more choice for our customers to take to the roads in vehicles that have been designed and engineered in Australia to make discovering our great country easy, safe and comfortable.”

Elsewhere in the Everest range, the Trend and Titanium variants score a reworked grille design while the flagship also scores similar bonnet badging to the Sport.

Ford Australia has sold 4699 new Everests so far this year ending October, 179 (4 per cent) more than it managed over the same period last year.

2021 Ford Everest pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs