Wednesday 21st March 2018

Jeep unveils 2018 Easter Safari concepts

Yep, it's that time of the year again, and would you just look at that Wagoneer?

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What will you be doing at Easter? Stuffing your face with chocolate? One too many treats after forgoing them for Lent? Whatever it is, it's unlikely to be as interesting as the Jeep Easter Safari in Moab, Utah, taking place for the 52nd time next weekend.

And as is becoming tradition, Jeep is bringing along a collection of Easter Safari concepts to thank its fans and showcase its wares. As you'll see, some concepts are a little closer to their roadgoing brethren than others.

We'll begin with the Wagoneer Roadtrip, because heritage is very much in at the moment - just ask Land Rover. Using its original steel body but with updated mechanicals, the Bottle Green Wagoneer has a five-inch longer wheelbase, a wider track and flared arches. Power comes from a 5.7-litre V8, while off-road capability is taken care of by Dana 44 front and rear axles plus BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain tyres. Cool car, that.

But if you want to off-road properly, then you'll probably need something a little more agile. Enter the 4Speed (you can probably guess which one that is). Jeep has created lightweight Easter concepts before - including, most entertainingly, the Pork Chop of 2011 - and this one pushes the ethos further with a new four-cylinder engine. To improve off-road prowess the 4Speed is 22 inches shorter than a Wrangler with a two-inch increase in ride height. Again, Dana axles and BF Goodrich tyres feature.

The 4Speed is not the only Wrangler-based concept, either. The Sandstorm (the really yellow one) is said to be "all about blitzing long, sandy straightaways" while also being everyday usable. So obviously it uses a 6.4-litre V8 (with a manual), plus Baja-inspired upgrades like a roll cages, bespoke coilovers with huge wheel travel and those big front spotlights. Once more, chassis tweaks including repositioned axles and a longer wheelbase should help on the trail.

Not your thing? Try the Jeepster concept, evoking the look of the original. So it's red and white two-tone - just as in the 60s - but with some modern hardware to back it up: a lift kit, 8,000 lumen off-road lights, Beadlock-capable wheels and uprated dampers. The Jeep J-Wagon is a "premium styled vehicle equally at home on the trails and urban cityscapes" - so it's black, of course. Based on a Wrangler Sahara, it features LED lights "to deliver commercial and military grade illumination", wheels in the 'Brass Monkey' colour seen on the Hellcats and redesigned bonnet to work with the snorkel. If you fancy. The final Wrangler is the Nacho: yellow, turbocharged and with LEDs to communicate trail conditions to everybody else. Jeep says it's "offering a blueprint off-roaders can follow to create their own custom trail vehicle."

Lastly, Jeep has remembered that it makes other cars and created the Renegade-based B-ute. With a 2.4-litre engine and a nine-speed auto, the B-ute comes prepared for "the ultimate off-road adventure" with a 1.5-inch lift kit, rock rails, 'T/A Baja Champion' tyres from BF Goodrich and 17-inch wheels with a 30mm offset. Phew.

It's a wonder Jeep has this much time to create the concepts, but it goes to show just how important off-roading must be to Americans and the brand. Should you ever want to bring that Wagoneer here Jeep, we have one or two off-road adventures available in the UK...

[Hairymonster]

Love the Wagoneer - the rest is dross

[unpc]

Agreed, that Wagoneer is lovely. I can thoroughly recommend renting a Wrangler and doing some offroading in Moab. One of the best days out I've had in years.

[oldtimer2]

As far as I am aware, Jeep concepts launched at the Easter Safari never make it into actual production. Instead it seems more like a marketing exercise to motivate the Jeep Wrangler's hard core market focussed on rock crawling the Moab.

The Land Rover approach is at the other end of the spectrum. You can buy a reworked classic starting at £100k plus (£150k for a nearly new V8). There is little or no discernable effort to appeal to the hard core Land Rover market - however that may be defined. Perhaps that will change when the Defender replacement is launched - but I am not holding my breath.

[Fire99]

I think the 'Sandstorm' and the Renegade are great.. Shame they're likely to be just concept ideas, though you'd have to be no shrinking voilet to trundle around in a tango coloured 'Sandstorm' in the UK..

[Gameface]

Wagoneer and Jeepster for me.

[PSB1967]

I wondered where Tamiya got their inspiration. Sandstorm for me, in a more modest colour. Mind you I don't think either of these would fit down any green lane I know of.

[Rawwr]

Now they've been unveiled, is there any chance they could be covered up again?

[unsprung]

Rawwr said:

Now they've been unveiled, is there any chance they could be covered up again?

the haughty killjoy... It's such a particular sort of British persona.

The folks at Jeep have been crafting these concepts annually for longer than most PH-ers have been alive. Creative, fun, and aligned with various strands of the global Jeep fan base.

Surely something worthy of a modicum of respect. (I give 'em a big thumb's up)

[ZX10R NIN]

That Wagoner wins hands down.

[Ex Expat]

Don’t know what sort of bottles you’ve been drinking out of but can’t see that the Wagoneer is “Bottle Green”! Coolest of the lot though!

[unsprung]

Ex Expat said:

Don’t know what sort of bottles you’ve been drinking out of but can’t see that the Wagoneer is “Bottle Green”! Coolest of the lot though!

Well spotted.

And according to the original press release from Jeep, the body colour is not stated. A few websites have taken to calling it "light green" and most people will recognise it as a hallmark shade of the mid-1950s to mid-1960s (this is especially true when paired, as this is, with the white top). The Wagoneer was first offered in 1963.

But wait: there's more.

The press release speaks of further retro accents. The original glass panels have been changed:

"...Bottle Green architectural glass replaces the original pieces."

You can see this glass and its bottle green shade in the PH photo above. Alternatively, see the additional photo below:

[vonhosen]

Do like that Wagoneer.

[Tartan Pixie]

Having never heard of the wagoneer before I did some research, which to say I checked the PH classifieds.

Apparently four out of five wagoneers are for sale in Texas, the fifth purports to be in Canada but a click on the link reveals that it's actually up for sale in Florida. For a go anywhere car it doesn't seem to travel very far, which is a shame.

[Ex Expat]

unsprung said:

Well spotted.

And according to the original press release from Jeep, the body colour is not stated. A few websites have taken to calling it "light green" and most people will recognise it as a hallmark shade of the mid-1950s to mid-1960s (this is especially true when paired, as this is, with the white top). The Wagoneer was first offered in 1963.

But wait: there's more.

The press release speaks of further retro accents. The original glass panels have been changed:

"...Bottle Green architectural glass replaces the original pieces."

You can see this glass and its bottle green shade in the PH photo above. Alternatively, see the additional photo below:




Yep! Bottle Green Window Glass makes sense

[Paul O]

I like that second, bluey coloured one. It looks like a cartoon, like something from the Cars movies. I do like that a lot.

[powerstroke]

Jeep the original being original , love it ...

[spreadsheet monkey]

Fire99 said:

I think the 'Sandstorm' and the Renegade are great

6.4 V8 and manual box in a short wheelbase Wrangler! Oof!

[Galsia]

Love that Wagoneer. Don't really care for the rest.

[andy43]

Wagoneers are seriously

This restored one is in Poland for 11k.
Woodgrain ftw

[Bibbs]

oldtimer2 said:

There is little or no discernable effort to appeal to the hard core Land Rover market

Nope. These are for people who like to walk home now and again, not all the time.