Orange Is The New Black

Double Black Offroad Revealed The First Modified Aussie-based Jl Wrangler – An Unstoppable Punk’n Orange Overland – Before The Wrangler’s Official Down Under Launch.

- Justin Walker 

FOR AUSSIE Jeep fanatics the eternal wait for the JL Wrangler is over, with the local launch officially taking place in Tasmania. Beating Jeep Australia to the punch, however, was Melbourne-based Jeep gurus Double Black Offroad (DBOR), who revealed the first Australian-modified Wrangler a few weeks prior.

This bright and brutally tough four-door Overland promises even more off-road fun and capability. More impressively, DBOR’s head honcho Bill Barbas invited 4X4 Australia to drive the thing. Bill was happy for us to get as down and dirty as we liked with the big orange beast, but there was a bit of a tussle to get to the keys...

SPECIAL DELIVERY

SO HOW does a niche specialist business get a hold of a vehicle before the big boys? Well, Bill is an ambassador for Brighton Jeep and he drew on that strong relationship to (excuse the pun) wrangle himself a very special delivery in the form of a Euro-spec JL Wrangler a few months before the official Australian launch (which, ironically, used Euro-spec vehicles). Once the Overland arrived, Bill and his team got stuck into the modifications they were keen to implement and then showcase.

The Jeep Wrangler isn’t short on available accessories, but the fact that the majority of JLs are, at this stage, still mainly drawn from the USA meant Bill and the team had to solve a few mechanical and engineering problems for this right-hand drive version. The big one – especially for anyone with an inclination toward off-road touring – is the position of the steering damper as it comes from the factory. In the stock Wrangler the steering damper sits quite low and is exposed to potential crunching when approaching a steep obstacle.

“It’s actually really bad,” Bill affirmed. “And that was the first choice: how to make that work properly to fit and suit right-hand drive.