Jeep Flights: More Teasers for the Easter Safari

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

Every year, gearheads at Jeep make a pilgrimage to the off-road mecca that is Moab, bringing along a yaffle of concept vehicles. Some of these rigs point to a future model, others too-cool restomods, and a few are tremendously bonkers one-offs.

We’re not entirely sure into which category today’s teaser will fall but, knowing Jeep, there’s a decent chance they’ll be putting this terrifically overpowered off-roader into production.

It’s apparently been two decades since the Rubicon name was first appended to a Wrangler, explaining the ‘20’ marked in superscript at the end of this Jeep’s bonnet banner. Other typical badges such as the Trail Rated icon are present and accounted for, plus a very entertaining ‘392’ tag on the flared hood. The latter tells us there is a 6.4-liter V8 under the hood of this concept, a mill already found in production Jeeps where it cranks out 470 horsepower.

Pro tip: Your author can confirm it is best to have the wheels of a Wrangler 392 pointed in a straight line before the dropping the hammer. This amount of power in a rig with a high center of gravity is as terrifying as it is grin-inducing. Fuel prices be damned, I’d gladly park one right next to my own V8-equipped Challenger.

Jeep has also teased a couple of other concepts ahead of Easter Safari, including what’s presumably an electrified variant of an existing model. The brand is all in with their 4xe line of vehicles, with company brass promising just about all its lineup will be powered by electrons in some form or another over the next few years. On the other end of the spectrum, a silhouette of a Gladiator pickup has been shown, featuring what appears to be burly accessories and a 392-style hood.

Elsewhere in Jeepland, all hands are busying themselves with an electrification strategy called Zero Emission Freedom, an effort which includes introducing the brand’s first all-electric SUV sometime in the 2023 calendar year. CEO Carlos Tavares showed a sketch of that vehicle during a Stellantis presentation earlier this year, revealing a machine which seems to be about the size of a present-day Compass while mashing together design cues from that model and the little Renegade.

[Image: Stellantis]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Kcflyer Kcflyer on Mar 11, 2022

    Dear Jeep. Can we have the 5.7L v8 and 8 speed automatic in the Wrangler? If you really want to make it irresistible offer it with the six speed manual. Pretty Please. The 6.4 is too pricey. Maybe make the 5.7 a 2 thousand dollar upgrade over the 6 cylinder. please and thank you.

  • Redapple Redapple on Mar 11, 2022

    KC.... Fricken A yes! I m in line behind you.

  • DM335 Ford could produce a "coupe" version of the Explorer called the Thunderbird. To do it properly, it would take new sheet metal and would need to combine some historical Thunderbird styling cues (large taillamps, metal bird emblems, etc.--no landau bars please). Of course, the market for these sporty SUVS such as the BMW X6 and MB GLE coupe is not large, so this would likely not be a financially-feasible plan.
  • Kevin I traded in my 2022 Civic Si after a year and this is one factor. It is Sep. 24 and still no recall, just a TSB so Honda can sweep it under the rug.This plus a terrible engine/tuning, bad safety tech, missing features, and the most rattling interior I've ever heard ensured I won't be buying another Honda ever again and I've loved Honda since the 2000's. They are not the same brand, or they are the same but cars are more complicated so the cracks really show now. Either way people were also having steering issues with the 10th gen civics also and Honda ignored them. Don't buy a Honda please. Everything about my Si besides the handling felt like a beta car, not a complete product.
  • 1995 SC Blazer
  • Jalop1991 you know, I can't help but remember the Dilbert cartoon where Dilbert commented to the janitor about how Dilbert has two cans under his desk, one for trash and one for recycling, but he's noticed that the janitor who comes around at night has only one large can. This is all smoke and mirrors. Mark my words, we will see stories down the road about place like this taking the recycling fees and dumping the batteries in a pit in some third world country.
  • Arthur Dailey Forget the 90`s. The cars and their names were largely forgettable. Bring back real car names. Wildcat. Riviera. Spitfire. Interceptor. Pinto (as someone else noted). Corvair. Speedwagon. Matador. Imperial. de Ville. Or even better Packard, Hudson, Studebaker, De Soto and Dusenberg. If VW can resurrect the Bugatti name, then why not?
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