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

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

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]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 11 comments
  • Tstag Tstag on Oct 19, 2016

    Meant to add you can park any Land Rover model next to another and no matter the price it works....

  • White Shadow White Shadow on Oct 20, 2016

    I first saw those same first two pictures on the Jeep forums two years ago. You guys were duped.

  • EBFlex Happy Columbus day
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Just remember though, Leif Erikson and his vikings discovered the New World centuries before Columbus did.
  • Likescars Today is a paid day off in the US only for people who work for government. For most others it is a work day..
  • Ollicat Happy Columbus Day!
  • Bd2 In honor of our lost indigenous people, when you are considering your next automotive selection , not only are eATPs and SACDs to be considered with the utmost urgency, consider the exigency of the automaker's treatment of indigenous people. Toyota is, as I'm sure you are aware, Japanese. Japan has a long history of human rights abuses throughout the islands it now occupies. Even nazis condemn Japan's human rights record in China. Why you ask? It is becaue Japan is a godless society. Now, would you not prefer to purchase from a company with a sterling and platinum reputation in the space of human rights? We thought so. Please consider Hyundai, Kia and Genesis of South Korea. The country with the best human rights record is joined with an incredible selection of curated eATPs. Please visit your Hyundai Kia Genesis dealer today and experience the vehicles of God's Country: South Korea.
Next