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The latest crop of Jeep concepts for the Easter Jeep Safari have dropped. My favorite is the Wrangler Africa, which should finally settle the question of whether it’s worth lusting after the Land Rover Defender when we get the Wrangler (my own feeling is “no”, but tell me why I’m wrong.
Aside from the 2 inch lift and Dana 44 axles, there’s a 2.8L diesel engine under the the hood.
A close second is the “Chief”, which pays tribute to the 1970’s full-size Jeeps. Like the Africa, it has the lift kit, axles and Fox shocks, along with a 3.6L Pentastar V6.
For me, the combination of a modern chassis and classic looks is hard to surpass. But I’ve also only ever known fuel injection, power brakes and 5-star crash test ratings.
35 Comments on “Jeep Unveils Concepts For Easter Jeep Safari...”
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I like the Safari
It looks very nice to me. It also seems a lot easier to bring to production than the Chief- I’m sure that Chrysler could come up with a way to keep a lot of the normal Wrangler parts.
It would be nice if they would at least sell those wheels the Africa and some past Jeep concepts use. Those are great wheels for an off-roader!
Actually, the Africa reminds me a lot of the old Jeep Rescue concept…
http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests/suv/163_0407_2005_jeep_rescue_concept/
I like that Rescue
I have a Matchbox version of it somewhere around here, but I’d like a 1/24 or 1/18 version of it.
I’d like to have a full-size version of it!
If they sold the wheels alone, it would be plenty for most of us. The rest could be supplied by the aftermarket.
Jeep, why must you tease us!?
One concept looks a lot like the original Willys Jeep
Almost. The original American Bantam jeep was a brick – you could fold down the windshield and take off the wheels and stack them for shipment. That was the concept for a design competition for the government for an all purpose 4WD vehicle.
A-B’s design was given to others by the government for production because A-B didn’t have the capacity. They built trailers for jeeps as a consolation, but at war’s end, the government “awarded” the jeep design to Willys. American Bantam got bought out by a steel mill company and was shut down when the trailer business dried up, without ever going back to building the minicars it produced in the 1930s.
American Bantam’s other famous design was a 1938 two seat convertible, that curiously looks like Donald Duck’s car, first seen in a Disney cartoon a year later. But some people think the origin of the “Curse of Jeep” was the result of the government taking American Bantam’s design and not giving it back. Every owner of the Jeep, Willys, Kaiser, American Motors, and Chrysler, has had problems after acquiring the jeep franchise.
That Chief is sweet! I’m thinking dark metallic red instead of the blue, with the white turned a little more of a pearl or cream color.
What do they make these for, a special annual event? Is this per Jeep themselves?
Yeah, every Easter Jeep puts on a thing at Moab and bring a bunch of concepts with them
Have they ever actually produced any of these? I’m thinking not – even though that Chief WOULD SELL.
That’s the thing that ticks everyone off, they never build any of them *sigh*
I mean – make that one and call it the Chief, then make it nicer and boom Grand Wagoneer. Then chop the roof off the back and Comanche.
How about Metallic Rust and Cream, like Bad Blake’s ride in Crazy Heart?
Yeah, the Africa, it hits every Rover soft spot, and comes close to the Land Cruiser one, too.
That thing, yes, makes it pointless to care about the Defender not being imported.
(Sure, “Chrysler reliability” … but it beats “Rover reliability” any day, doesn’t it?)
Those pictures should make anyone realize why the wrangler sells so much. The Cherokee and renegade look like jokes in comparison (although they serve there purposes well regardless)
Y u no like triangle roof tent?
I think the ability to customize Wrangler is a part of an attraction, although I cannot tell how big. The majority of Wrangler owners do not modify their jeeps other than cosmetically, and majority of the rest only make easier fixes like adding lights or swapping bumpers. Once you start getting serious about it, expense rockets up, you cannot use it for daily driver anymore, you spend all your time in the garage, or all of it combined.
My first mod was adding foam formers to cupholders, so that water bottles do to jump flying out at the first obstacle.
The ladder on that Grand Cherokee looks like it’s just waiting to dent the body or scratch the paint.
Love the Wrangler Africa wheels.
The Chief has FJ Cruiser-like proportions: the wheels are too big for the body, which in turn is too big for the greenhouse. It’s a Charlie Chaplin “big pants – tiny jacket” thing, I guess.
Having grown up when Renegades roamed the mountains and trails: TAKE MY MONEY, JEEP!
Wait, no, the Africa is even cooler.
I’ll take both.
Oh, and the Jeep pickup. Holding my breath till I get one.
I like the Africa, it’s a very neat and tidy looking vehicle.
It isn’t over the top. The 2.8 diesel will make it a far better off roader than any gasoline engine.
I agree. The Africa looks like a proper off-roader, and while you can argue the utility of diesels in passenger cars, it’s hard to beat the torque and range for an SUV.
It is nice to see plain wheels on a 4×4 like the “Africa” but they put black wheels on the others which is a fad that I hope dies soon.
Youre not the only one. Whats worse than black aftermarket wheels? Spray painted factory wheels. My neighbor bought a 1996 Chevy K1500 (K = 4wd for those who dont know) short box for a hunting/fishing truck. Stock Chevy sawblades spray painted black. Yuck. Good looking truck otherwise. Previous owner had some obnoxious exhaust on it, too. That was the first thing he corrected, and he assures me that those wheels are next on the chopping block. He said he tried to remove the paint, but it wouldnt come off.
I long for the silver painted steel wheels base model cars used to have. I like them much more than most ugly wheel covers used today. Take the Ford Transit (not the Connect) for example. The stock painted silver steelies look so much better than the wheel covers on the higher trim models.
I want that Renegade.
I don’t think you are wrong, the only reason the Defender is appealing is because its rare, and you can’t throw a dead cat without hitting a Wrangler.
I like the Africa for many of the same reasons I like Defenders. Would be really cool if a company would pick up that theme and produce a safari-style hard top for the Wranglers, a stepped roof with safari windows would do wonders for the slightly squashed and wide looking Wrangler Unlimited… ok, looks like someone already has:
http://bit.ly/1LxFyAO
Not only that, mnm4ever, anyone that complains about the ride and handling of a Wrangler on the highway has never driven a Defender (or, better still, a Series Land Rover) on the road. Those things really are spartan, uncomfortable beasts!
The Africa looks like the perfect vehicle for the urban jungleist to hunt giraffe on the streets of America, while togged out in a Safari hat and camo for that authentic look, and whooping the throttle on that gruff VM Motori 2.8l cackler to scare away hyenas.
Man, I think I got past that stage in life at about age 11. That was my first ride in a Land Rover, a 1958 model driven by a phoneticist from the University of Michigan inexplicably researching Aboriginal languages in Nova Scotia. Went on a trip with him to a First Nations reserv
e, and they all drove ’53 Dodges, the gravel road grader having been invented some decades before. That LR was atrocious, but it looked as serious as David Attenborough in the Serengeti.
On another note, the Logitech Bluetooth keyboard loses its mind on this Samsung tablet, and posts messages unexpectedly while normal typing is occurring. Not recommended.
Is it me or does the Africa look like it’s trying to be a Landrover Defender 110?
The “Chief” and “Staff car: bother me because they are too self consciously fake and the fabricators couldn’t be bothered to make the Chief either a true 2-door or a true 4 door but did some missing side window fakery.
These are terrific throwback designs, with lots of personality… clearly, there are designs that can be produced, like the xB, in spite of optimal aerodynamics or current styling trends.
Still, who would seriously consider sleeping in a triangular tent on the roof of their car??!!
I never thought I’d like a beige car, but that Safari is nice looking. I think the rims make the deal. Normal rims would ruin it.
That and the blue classic are way better than all of the monstrosities in the gallery
Is the Africa a 3-row Wrangler?
Plain jane steel wheels!
What is old is new again.
Soon there will be dog dish hubcaps for the steelies…