Once given the opportunity to participate in the transformation of the Wrangler, Jeep’s engineers and designers can be described as crossing the sea, each showing their own special skills, showing a variety of concept cars that are either full of whimsy or profound commemorative significance like a routine. Attract the attention of fans. Sometimes, Jeep’s concept cars show the prototype of its future models; sometimes, they are just to show the unique creativity of the brand. Whether it’s for us or not, these concept cars are pretty cool pieces. Now, we have sorted out and selected 10 of Jeep’s most innovative concept cars.
1990 Jeep Freedom concept car
In many folk modification cases, it is commonplace to remove the roof and doors of the Wrangler, but Jeep also built a convertible version. This is the Freedom concept car. This car is modified from a Cherokee. The roof is removed to allow more airflow into the car; body stiffness. Since its predecessor was a Cherokee, the concept car has four-wheel drive, but unlike the Cherokee, it has an electronically controlled soft top. While the car looks pretty good, we expect Jeep to do even better with its production convertible.
1997 Jeep Dakar concept car
Today, the Wrangler can be said to be one of the representatives of practical models with ample interior space. But in 1997, there was no such thing until the appearance of the Dakar concept car, which showed that the designers had at least begun to experiment with this idea on real cars. The length of the car’s body frame has been increased by 38 centimeters, changing from the previous two-door layout to a four-door layout, which also adds a lot of seating space for rear passengers.
Other modifications include roof racks, a sliding canvas sunshade roof, a winch, and various additional lights. “The Dakar Concept is ready for a tougher ride than ever before,” John E. Herlitz, later a Chrysler vice president, said at the 1997 Detroit Auto Show presentation. The real four-door version of the Wrangler Unlimited was released and officially launched at the 2006 New York Auto Show.
2004 Jeep Treo concept car
The Treo Concept is the furthest thing from a traditional Jeep design. In the interior, this car adopts a 2+1 layout with two seats in the front row and one seat in the rear row. The steering wheel, pedals, and other devices controlled through the interface can be moved from one end to the other, so the owner can freely switch between left-hand drive and right-hand drive. In addition, two mountain bikes can be placed vertically at the rear of the vehicle. The Treo mini form factor is purpose-built for customers who live in busy cities or on college campuses. The concept car is powered by two electric motors powered by hydrogen fuel cells, one on the front axle and one on the rear axle.
2005 Jeep Gladiator Concept
The name of this concept car comes from the Gladiator truck released by Jeep in 1962, and the body structure is based on the Wagoneer transformation. This car looks exactly what a Wrangler pickup should look like, with a strong industrial flavor. The unconventional rear compartment uses a center door design, so its length can be extended from the standard 68 inches (1727 mm) to 80 inches (2032 mm).
The car is equipped with a 2.8L turbo diesel engine that provides 163 horsepower (121 kilowatts) and 295 pound-feet (399 Nm) of peak torque. Today, such a design does not only exist on concept cars. After official confirmation and media spy photos, we believe that Jeep is planning to adopt a pickup truck body style design on the next-generation Wrangler.
2005 Jeep Hurricane concept car
The Hurricane concept car is powered by two 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engines, each producing 335 horsepower (249 kilowatts) and 370 pound-feet (501 Newton-meters) of peak torque. That’s right, that adds up to 670 horsepower (499 kilowatts) and 740 pound-feet (1003 Newton-meters) of torque. The more incredible design includes a special four-wheel steering system, which allows the vehicle to make more agile and flexible steering actions, which can play a big role in extreme off-road conditions.
In addition, due to its bold design, new suspension and 37-inch tires, the Hurricane concept car has an approach angle of 64 degrees and a departure angle of 86.7 degrees. extreme road conditions. The birth of this car can be regarded as a kind of madness in the industry, and it is also the best display of the unique creativity of Jeep engineers and designers.
2008 Jeep Renegade Concept
Although the Renegade concept car is very different from today’s Renegade models, the concept car does herald the unique design style of future Jeep models. It’s a two-seat convertible with opening doors and a durable interior that’s easy to clean up. Due to the use of low-density materials, this car minimizes the weight and waste of materials, and the weight of the whole car is only 1.4 tons. Jeep described the design concept of this car as “while enjoying resources, it can also take into account the future.”
In terms of power, this car has a plug-in hybrid powertrain, including a Mercedes-Benz Bluetec 1.5L inline three-cylinder diesel engine and a lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor. In pure electric mode, this car has a battery life of 64 kilometers, and its fuel consumption is 46.7 kilometers per liter.
2012 Jeep Mighty FC Concept
The idea for the concept car was inspired by the Forward Control models from 1956 to 1965. To commemorate this model, Jeep engineers combined the cab of a 2012 Wrangler Rubicon on the front axle and installed a car on the rear. Side-loadable cargo compartment. In order to increase the ground clearance as much as possible, the Mighty FC concept car uses a large-drop front axle design, and the suspension uses a new King integrated coil spring shock absorber, Teraflex control arm, 17-inch wheels and 40-inch off-road tires .
2015 Jeep Chief Concept
Likewise, the concept car was born as a tribute to the Cherokee of the 1970s, based on a modified Wrangler, but the modified shape is far from the Wrangler. The new body structure has greatly increased the capacity of the trunk, and it also comes with a foldable tailgate. The design of the bumper and front grille is full of retro atmosphere. But the real attraction is its ingenious detail elements, including the hand-carved wood grain on the shift lever, the Tiki toys on the dashboard, and the surf-themed body paint.
2016 Jeep Shortcut Concept
The release of the Shortcut concept car is to commemorate Jeep’s classic CJ-5, and the design also adopts a retro style. The most conspicuous change of the vehicle is, of course, its shortened body by 66 centimeters. Other modifications include a shorter bumper and the use of a spare wheel, and the approach and departure angles are certainly not small.
This is a model commemorating the 1950s. Its seats are decorated with red checks, and the color of the wheels and roll cage is also retro red. In today’s situation where the Jeep Wrangler is developing towards a larger and more modern trend, the very retro design on the Shortcut concept car deserves our appreciation.
2016 Jeep Trailcat Concept
Dodge’s Hellcat engine isn’t an easy ride for every vehicle, but apparently the Jeep Wrangler isn’t one of them. In addition to being fully functional, the Trailcat concept car is powered by Dodge’s 6.2L V8 supercharged engine and a six-speed manual transmission. On the other hand, the introduction of the Trailcat concept car also means that the Grand Cherokee equipped with Hellcat power is not far from the release.
