The Jeep Wrangler identity is built on doing one thing and doing it well. Facing the future, the off-road brand’s flagship has decided to go both ways: green and mean.
The Wrangler, like many vehicles, is caught between two worlds. In the world of today, customers are buying more power with less concern about fuel economy, and parent company FCA’s unofficial motto is to Hellcat all the things. In the world of tomorrow, strict regulations worldwide are pushing automakers toward hybrid and electric vehicles. Jeep has decided not to decide and just built both.
On the same day, Jeep announced both the Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid and the Rubicon 392 Concept with a 6.4-liter V-8. One deals with the reality of today, the other with the reality of tomorrow.
Believe it or not, Jeep has never offered a Wrangler with a V-8 from the factory. Ever since the Wrangler launched as a 1987 model (the code-named YJ generation), power-hungry enthusiasts and aftermarket outfits such as AEV have taken matters into their own hands, swapping all sorts of V-8s into their off-roaders. The last time Jeep’s famous utility vehicle, the pre-Wrangler CJ, was available with a factory-installed V-8 was in 1981. That vehicle had a 304-cubic-inch pushrod V-8 that made 125 horsepower and 220 lb-ft of torque. How time flies.
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THREE - PEAT
THE RAM BRAND DOES IT AGAIN WITH ITS STELLAR PICKUP PLATFORM RUN RIOT
Opposite Lockdown: Rediscovering the romance of the road
We hit the road the hour before dawn, the Aston Martin DB11 V8 limbering up nicely as we cruised toward the coast and EuroTunnel train that would take us under the English Channel.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
AN S-CLASS SHOULD BE A STATEMENT OF EXCELLENCE AND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE. IT DELIVERS ON ALL COUNTS.
Mike Koval Jr
Head of Ram Brand, FCA North America
KEEP ON TRUCKING
NOT EVEN A PANDEMIC CAN STOP AMERICA'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE PICKUP TRUCK
COME- BACK
RANDY POBST RECOUNTS HIS EPIC PIKES PEAK CRASH AND HOW THE UNPLUGGED PERFORMANCE TEAM GAVE HIM A SECOND CRACK AT GLORY
FASHIONABLE GLAMPING
AN IDIOSYNCRATIC ICON DELIVERS THE AURA OF CLASSIC RV LIFE, BUT AT A COST
2022 Hyundai Tucson
Bold Design Goes Mainstream
2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup
An Off-Road Icon Reborn
2020 Land Rover Defender 110 D240
Is the Diesel More Desirable?
Precursor to luxury: Looking back to the Kaiser Jeep Super Wagoneer
As we put hands to keyboard on this issue of Four Wheeler, Jeep has only begun to tease us with its latest entry in the premium luxury SUV field: the Grand Wagoneer concept.
STEER YOU RIGHT
A PSC Motorsports Big Bore XD steering box solved our Jeep’s steering woes
SHINE AND DANDY
We install some Denali LED lights and the sPOD Mini6 control panel
THE GOBI JEEP
Anatomy of a JK that’s built with important and problem-solving upgrades
HOMEMADE OFF-ROAD TRAILER
’65 Ford F-100 chassis
THE MEN RIDE SHOTGUN
ON a Sunday morning last month, women from the midwest got behind the wheel of their Jeeps, some for the first time. The location was Robbers Cave State Park in Southeast Oklahoma as part of the Jeep Invasion, an organized event to support local fire and law enforcement departments, organized by Lori Spiva Long.
A POSITIVE OUTCOME ON YOUR DUI
Many vintage and performance vehicle owners are looking for an alternative ignition solution to a point type distributor and traditional coil.
24 HOURS OF MADNESS
NorCal Style
Reliving the Sh!%box Derby: You would only do this in an old, beat-up 4x4
Let me take this opportunity to give you my take on the ’21 Ford Bronco because 4,530,229 online stories have probably failed to satiate your appetite for unsolicited opinions of Ford’s new would-be Wrangler killer.
Is your 4x4 destined to be a family heirloom?
Keepsake or Jeepsake? Sometimes it’s the same thing