A standard Jeep tends to be a pretty capable machine out in the wild, but for the 51st annual Jeep Easter safari in the Moab, the off-roading manufacturer again enlisted Mopar’s help to put together seven rather special concepts. Here they are…
Jeep Grand One
The first is the Jeep Grand One, which serves to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Grand Cherokee. It boasts a set of custom 18-inch gold wheels, each wrapped in 33-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain KM2 rubber.
The Grand One also gains flared wheel arches and an extended and lifted wheelbase. The interior and 5,2-litre V8 have been left completely untouched.
Jeep Safari
The Jeep Safari stay true to its name. It’s a custom Wrangler designed to head out into the wild. This car has been fitted with a transparent roof and doors to improve visibility, and also has a multilevel cargo rack that includes a drone.
The Jeep Safari is powered by a 3,6-litre V6 connected to a five-speed automatic transmission. A set of skid plates and steel bumpers add to its rugged persona.
Jeep Quicksand
The quicksand is easily the wildest custom job here. Jeep and Mopar have taken the Wrangler’s platform and swapped almost everything out, creating a hot rodding off-roader in the process. Seeing that it’s built to tackle the dunes, the Quicksand has been fitted with a 6,4-litre Mopar Hemi and a six-speed manual gearbox.
The interior gains a set of red leather bucket seats and aluminium door panels, along with a chrome roll-bar. The imposing exterior design is completed by the 32-inch front and 37-inch rear dune-tackling tyres.
Jeep Trailpass
This concept is based on the new Jeep Compass, but features a 1,5-inch lift kit and a set of 18-inch wheels. The body makes use of a two-tone green-and-gloss-black colour scheme with subtle red accenting.
The Trailpass also gains a Mopar-Thule roof basket and a bag with traction mats as well as a custom bonnet. Powering the Trailpass is the 2,4-litre Tigershark engine, which delivers its oomph to all four wheels.
Jeep Switchback
This one is based on the Wrangler Rubicon Limited, but is even more capable off road thanks to its assortment of Mopar and Jeep performance parts, including solid front and rear Dana 44 axles with four-inch lift shocks and heavy-duty differential covers.
The Switchback uses the Safari’s door design but without the transparent materials. A similar roof rack design is also present. Powering this custom Wrangler is a 3.6-litre V6 mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.
Jeep CJ66
The CJ66 made an appearance at SEMA 2016 and pays homage to the iconic CJ-6. The Wrangler-based off-roader uses a 5,7-litre Hemi V8, which delivers 285 kW to all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission.
Jeep Luminator
Needless to say, this Jeep’s specialty is illumination thanks to parts provided by Magneti Marelli. The load-out includes a scanning LED light bar module with active spot and dynamic following technology, a bonnet-mounted centre spotlight and rear colour-coded LED deceleration lights. The front bumper also gains heavy LED foglamps.
To help power all of these lights, the Luminator has been equipped with a roof-mounted solar panel that charges a separate battery pack next to an illuminated drone landing pad.
