Here's Your First Look at the Jeep Grand Wagoneer (and More of the 2018 Wrangler)

The story goes that someone at a recent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles dealer meeting acted quickly when the automaker flashed images of future Jeep models across the screen.

While FCA hasn’t given the public so much as a hint of what the upcoming, range-topping Jeep looks like, we now have a better idea, all thanks to that person’s quick-draw camera. Oh, and there’s plenty of 2018 Wrangler details to gleam, too.

Jeep’s Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are standalone models slotting above the Grand Cherokee, riding a version of that model’s next-generation platform. Expect mondo luxury when they land as 2019 models, we’re told. The top-shelf model could fetch as much as $140,000, Jeep brand head Mike Manley claims.

We can’t see the interior, but the model’s front sure looks imposing, suggesting larger overall dimensions than the Grand Cherokee. $140,000 calls for serious real estate, especially in America. Jeep’s seven-slot grille is compressed and widened on the Grand Wagoneer, stretching almost to Hummer proportions. Each headlamp carries seven LEDs, as does its taillights — no coincidence, for sure.

Protruding from the lower bumper are what appear to be tow hooks, each contained within a gunport-like opening. Luxury doesn’t need to mean the elimination of manly brawn, it seems. Flanking those are LED foglights. In the rear, flush tailpipes carry on the gunport theme.

We’ll have to wait until the model draws closer to production for powertrain details. It’s possible the Grand Wagoneer could borrow components from other FCA-owned automakers — Maserati, perhaps. Or, it could be all Hellcat, all the time.

There’s less mystery surrounding the 2018 Jeep Wrangler, but this is the first non-camouflaged model we’ve seen. Damn that dim light, though. The next-generation Wrangler’s Number One mission is to increase fuel economy and improve aerodynamics without damaging the “look” that makes the Wrangler such a draw. A lowered leading hood edge and more steeply slanted grille are in the works, along with a sharper rake to the windshield. Aluminum components, including the hood and doors, should help lower its curb weight. (One Jeep enthusiast already knows all about that hood.)

The image is dark, but it’s easy to spot larger turn signal lamps stretching most of the way across the leading edge of the front fenders. A broader, shapelier bumper clearly hints at aerodynamic improvements and friendlier pedestrian impacts. It seems there’s still a gap between bumper and fender, so thank God for that.

An eight-speed automatic transmission joins the model, with fuel efficiency gains stretched by the likely addition of a roughly 300 horsepower “Hurricane” four-cylinder engine. Don’t worry, a six-speed manual carries over. A diesel powerplant and a pickup variant are also on tap for the next-generation Wrangler, which should show itself sometime next year.

[Images: KGP Photography]