Production Jeep J8 debuts in Germany
Click above for a photo gallery of the Jeep J8
Unless you're a foreign military, government, or humanitarian organization, you're not getting your hands on the Jeep J8, a vehicle we think a number of Jeepers would be all over in about two seconds if it were to be offered in neighborhood dealerships. Available as a two-door pickup (above) or a four-door (like the civilian Wrangler Unlimited), the J8 goes on sale this month and was officially revealed at Euro Camp Jeep '08 in Germany.
Power comes from a 150-horse turbodiesel with 295 lb-ft of torque, with that juice going to all four wheels via a five-speed auto and Jeep's Command-Trac 4WD. The J8's built to be a workhorse, with a Dana 60 rear, leaf springs in back, upgraded brakes, and a revamped intake that lets it ford 30 inches of water and handle a sandstorm lasting up to five hours. Its max payload is 2,750 pounds, and it has a towing capacity of over 7,700 pounds. Because the J8's duties will vary depending upon who's placing the order, a variety of cargo and seating configurations are offered, as is left- or right-hand-drive. All this, and no, you can't order one. Yes, that sucks.
Gallery: Jeep J8
[Source: Chrysler]
PRESS RELEASE:
Iconic Jeep® J8 Displayed at Euro Camp Jeep 2008 Offers Extreme Cargo and Towing for Humanitarian, Commercial and Military Applications, All at a Great Value
- Unmatched payload capacity in its segment
- Powerful diesel engine provides 3,500 kilogrammes of towing capacity
- Best-in-class water-fording capability and ground clearance
- Available in four-door and extended-bed two-door versions, in both left- and right-hand drive
- Jeep® J8 also offers an exceptional value, priced below other vehicles designed for humanitarian and military duty
"The new Jeep J8 combines the legendary capability and dependability that makes the Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited famous with unmatched cargo capacity and an exceptional towing rating," said Thomas Hausch, Vice President – International Sales, Chrysler LLC. "The Jeep J8 is also an exceptional value, priced below other vehicles designed for humanitarian and military duty."
With the all-new 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited as the starting point, Jeep engineers increased the capability and versatility to create the Jeep J8. The frame of the Wrangler Unlimited is reinforced for increased ruggedness and to allow greater payloads – up to a maximum of 1,250 kilogrammes (2,756 lbs.). The rear axle is a Dana 60 model with disc brakes engineered specifically for more demanding use. The rear suspension utilizes a leaf-spring suspension system. The J8's Command-Trac® four-wheel-drive system allows maximum versatility and performance in both on- and off-road conditions.
The Jeep J8 is powered by a 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 118 kW (158 hp) and 400 Nm (295 lb.-ft.) of torque, providing towing capability of up to 3,500 kilogrammes (7,716 lbs.). The engine is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. The J8 also features a unique air-intake system with special filtration and a hood-mounted air inlet that enables the J8 to ford water up to 762 millimetres (30 in.) deep and operate in sandstorm conditions for up to five hours. The Jeep J8 features best-in-class water-fording capability and ground clearance.
The Jeep J8 is available as a two-door with an extended pickup bed for personnel or equipment transport, or a four-door multipurpose vehicle. It may be produced with numerous vehicle-body and seating configurations in either right- or left-hand drive. The two-door version, for example, can be configured as a personnel carrier with seating for up to eight.
While not designed for front-line combat operations, the Jeep J8 is armour capable and excels in a variety of duties ranging from command vehicle to troop/cargo carrier, ambulance, communications vehicle and other duties – also making it suitable for civilian government applications. Tow eyes and heavy-duty bumpers allow the Jeep J8 to be easily transported by airplane or helicopter.
In June 1941, the U.S. Army received its first shipments of the Willys MA, the rugged 4x4 vehicle that came to be called the Jeep. This predecessor to today's Jeep Wrangler would prove so vital to the Allies' World War II effort that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower declared that the war could not have been won without the Jeep vehicle. Willys went on to produce the CJ-2A, a civilian version of the military vehicle, to deliver the capable and dependable service that the military had come to know. Today's Jeep J8 continues in the tradition of both of these early 4x4s.
The Jeep J8 will be produced in the Chrysler LLC joint-venture facility in Cairo, Egypt, and will be available beginning in July 2008.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TJ 11:10AM (7/11/2008)
Cerberus:
MAKE A CIV VERSION OF THIS. MANY, MANY, MANY PEOPLE WILL BUY ONE.
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Lithous 11:24AM (7/11/2008)
Why is that? It is like a Jeep scrambler (but without the rear seat, though I imagine rear seats would be an option) and I don't know that it was a big hit in the past.
LDMAN 11:45AM (7/11/2008)
It actually looks very good on paper but a military vehicle is hard to live with, and/or impossible to homologate (jump seats), or has military items (JATE shackles, convoy lights, etc..) that makes impossible to sell with a an export license.
What give everyone a bonner is the diesel automatic. Unfortunately, they are made by Daimler and wiill cost Chrysler a bomb to purchase once the supply agreement runs out. Nice military spec, though.
imoore 11:55AM (7/11/2008)
Scramblers sosld quite well during the years they were offered, 1981-1985. This helped Jeep get a foothold in the compact truck market. Jeep stopped selling them when the Commanche went on sale for the 1986 model year.
Sorin 12:14PM (7/11/2008)
What do you need the rear seat Lithous? It's a Jeep brother. It's not a family car. You don’t go shopping with it. Come back to Earth fellow.
Mattias 12:47PM (7/11/2008)
The engine is VM, not Daimler. Penske already sold its majority stake in VM Motori to GM.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:22AM (7/11/2008)
It's a 2-door Wrangler Unlimited. And it looks equally awkward.
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Dave 11:43AM (7/11/2008)
I don't see many people wanting one of those accept for the current crowd who buys Jeeps. Another ugly Jeep vehicle.
Torrent 12:03PM (7/11/2008)
Precisely.
Pacman 11:29AM (7/11/2008)
Just give us the engine and I am happy. If I could buy a Wranagler Unlimited that achieved 25/30 mpg I would by it. The only thing holding me back is the poor MPG. Would a small diesel get good mpg in a wrangler unlimited?
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Lithous 11:31AM (7/11/2008)
"Eisenhower declared that the war could not have been won without the Jeep vehicle. "
Let's piece it together. I saw a commercial for Isuzu, "the first car builders of Japan", one time. Say it took Japanese companies between 20 and 40 years (depending on which Japanese company and when you declare their sales victories) to really do well over here. If they were to have been better at manufacturing earlier within 20 to 40 years after 1908 they could have had the "vehicle that won the war"
Yup, very interesting. In reality it was all of our manufacturing that really did it. Something we willfully throw away today.
Jeep went from American to French to German hands and probably to Chinese hands next if Chrysler has anything to do with it. But hey, it is all about out with the old and in with the new!!!!
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Shipey 11:33AM (7/11/2008)
WANT.
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Gardiner Westbound 11:36AM (7/11/2008)
Withholding the Jeep J8 from the civilian market would make sense if it came machine guns. People would line up to pay list price for it. Pundits are predicting Chrysler's early demise. What are they thinking?
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larry 9:36AM (7/12/2008)
Ha ha- "machine guns"...
Let's see. Chrysler is in financial trouble. Chrysler needs more profitable vehicles to sell to make money to get out of trouble. Chrysler needs a vehicle to bring buyers into the showroom. Chrysler needs a cheerful vehicle that will encourage buyers to open their wallet.
Therefore as Chrysler has such a vehicle in Germany, etc--the J8--
Chrysler won't import said trucklet...
Brilliant!
dwain 11:43AM (7/11/2008)
It would be a smart thing for Jeep to bring this to the states and sell it to civilians. That is why we will never see this happen. We will just get twelve SUV's with Jeep badges, poor gas milage and a new MP3 option or some kind of laser light show.
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G-Meister 11:45AM (7/11/2008)
If it was a matter of getting around the emissions, I would even sign up for the 2-Door with the gas V6. It would be better with a slightly longer bed though- all this "short rear overhang" BS is dumb. A slight stretch in the rear could give you real 6ft cargo capacity.
Dig the D60/Leaf springs. No risk of popping an axle shaft there.
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Frank 11:49AM (7/11/2008)
Because this is a military/government/commercial spec vehicle if they made a civic version it would be too expensive and everyone would complain about it. Also, I bet you can't get the diesel motor in the U.S. because of our (stupid, shortsighted) environmental regulations, so it wouldn't perform the same. And people would complain about that too (the performance, not the (stupid, shortsighted) environmental regulations)).
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Jason 12:42PM (7/11/2008)
This is a civilian vehicle that's been upgraded to military spec use, not the other way around. It's not the same as how the Humvee became the H1, it's just the opposite. From an operational standpoint, the biggest difference between this vehicle and what we've currently got available in the US is the Dana60 rear axle and rear leaf spring suspension.
All the J8 really is is a 2-dr version of the JK Unlimited, with some additional frame reinforcement, Dodge Ram brakes on the front axle, and a 1-ton rear running gear. And of course the CRD motor we all want.
Aside from the CRD, which doesn't pass US emissions, and the 1-ton rear end, all they'd really have to do to give us (USA) the J8/JT is simply slap that 2-dr body on the JK Unlimited chassis, instead of the current 4-dr Unlimited body. Since the design work is already done on that body tub, I really and truly can't understand what's stopping them from adding it to the US line-up.
imoore 11:49AM (7/11/2008)
This is just one reason why Chrysler is having problems: lack of vehicles that the public really needs and wants. We could have had the Gladiator, and ended up with the Commander, Patriot and Compass, all bad choices. With Mahindra just around the corner, a J8 JT pickup would work just as well. (Just the same, if GM offered the Hummer HX/H4 and dropped the rest of the lineup, then there would be no need to sell.) So until someone at Chrysler wise up and do the right thing, one can only hope that our military will request some J8's for service, and we can buy them at auction in ,oh, about 5 years.
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Noah 11:54AM (7/11/2008)
Jeep desperately needs a good 4-cylinder diesel. Or the MB diesel V6.
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