Mopar Underground unveils concept Jeeps at Moab safari
Jeep Lower Forty concept by Mopar Underground - Click above for image gallery
Every year, the off-road faithful gather for the annual Jeep Safari. This year's was held in the Moab Desert, held out of the limelight while all eyes – including Chrysler's and our own – were focused on the New York Auto Show. So while Jeep itself was unveiling the new Grand Cherokee, Chrysler's skunkworks division, Mopar Unlimited – the same crew responsible for most of the company's SEMA show cars – brought out a pair of concept trucks for its most hard-core enthusiasts.
The first, called the Grand Canyon II, is based on the outgoing Grand Cherokee Overland, upgraded with some extra luxurious touches. Little information is available on that concept truck, but the real excitement factor was in the Jeep Lower Forty concept (above). Based on the Wrangler, the truck is immediately characterized by its oversized tires, which required a fair bit of hack-sawing of the bodywork by the Mopar crew but no suspension mods, leaving the center of gravity in tact while increasing the ground clearance. Under the hood lies a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with six-speed manual transmission, capped by a custom carbon-fiber hood and a windscreen cut down by 3 inches and raked back 10 degrees. The concept was painted a special shade of red called Red Eye No. 3.
Unfortunately, there's little information available on either concept truck beyond what the team at Inside Line was able to get ahold of, which is a little surprising for a company steered by a guy named Press. So in the meantime we'll just have to suffice with these initial details and the low-res images in the gallery below.
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
schneider 10:46AM (4/13/2009)
"In tack"?? Is that supposed to mean "intact"?
/not the first time I've heard someone say that. ARGH.
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Nude Love 11:03AM (4/13/2009)
Maybe you should just stop being a grammar dildo, and not get upset over silly mistakes.
TVs Hasselhoff 11:09AM (4/13/2009)
Maybe Autoblog should be more careful with its entries, as their work has been filled with these kinds of problems.
Nightcrawler 11:18AM (4/13/2009)
Schneider is right of course, but after all, this is a blog, not the New York Times. You can't really expect everything to be perfect.
BoxerFanatic 11:23AM (4/13/2009)
Agreed, but a writer should be held to a high enough standard to be correct.
It is bad enough when I see mangled phonetically-written phrases like that in the comments, but in the actual article is actually worse, from someone who should have command of the english language.
The Jeep looks interesting, but wouldn't their money and focus be better used, umm...
...Keeping the company alive.
Maybe if they built jeeps that people demand, like the JT wrangler-based pickup, and sold it officially, they might actually SELL some. Building vehicles that are not for sale, be it concepts, one-offs, or a few gov't-only models... don't bring revenues in from the public.
Nellydesign 12:09PM (4/13/2009)
You should have a question mark at the end of "...keeping the company alive" since it is the end of a question.
-Grammar Dildo
Simon C.H. 10:47AM (4/13/2009)
Yep, just keep tearing up that pristine wilderness.
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Alex 10:56AM (4/13/2009)
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.
The majority of offroaders follow this mantra. They do not roll in with chainsaws and drums of used oil. Get off your high horse.
Have you ever gone offroading?
EXP Jawa 11:01AM (4/13/2009)
'Cuz no one had been offroading in Moab before...
Allen 11:37AM (4/13/2009)
Better turn your computer off, the electricity it is using may have been generated by something that pollutes. Better not buy a house, because where that house sits was once pristine wilderness.
Get a clue.
Ken 12:33PM (4/13/2009)
What wilderness exactly is he tearing up? All I see are rocks and dirt.
Derek 10:47AM (4/13/2009)
Looks like a blast off road, but driving that on the highway...
Maybe I don't get why concepts that will never see production are made, but here's what I think the next Wrangler needs (and I'm basing this off what I think is missing from my 05 Sport).
1. Turbocharged CRD - Canada gets this but we don't? Doesn't Jeep = American?
2. More aerodynamic design - Wind noise and handling at highway speeds gets pretty crazy.
3. Lever handles - I cannot stand the push button handles on Chrysler vehicles, especially when you've got big hands or winter gloves on.
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Coolio 3:37PM (4/13/2009)
You should differentiate between the article, which should be held to a high journalistic standard, and the comments which should be held to a lesser standard (gramatically, not with respect to the content).
Avinash machado 10:59AM (4/13/2009)
Actually it won't surprise me if Greenies attempt to ban Off-Road racing,Jeep Safaris, Rubicon raids etc.
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summazooma 11:02AM (4/13/2009)
No change in center of gravity? Didn't the overall rolling diameter go way up with the new wheel/tire combination? I would guess that the increase in ground clearance came specifically because the ride height went up with the new rolling stock (remember: no change to suspension, claimed by MU).
Between the meatier tires and higher center of gravity (I'll assume that until somebody explains how it's not true), I think this might be a real sideways launcher on asphalt in an emergency maneuver.
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fixitfixitstop 11:05AM (4/13/2009)
I'm assuming the center of gravity is lowered since this appears to be a much wider Jeep.
summazooma 11:08AM (4/13/2009)
Another look and I think the track, front & rear, are greater than the stock vehicle... a good thing for stability, though I know the Wrangler development team was already concerned about it's increase in width over it's predecessor. This thing's meats might make the whole thing moot.
Still, I can't believe the center of gravity would be lower on this than a stock Wrangler.
summazooma 11:10AM (4/13/2009)
To be clear, the effective roll center would be affected by the track width, not the height of the center of gravity.
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Zillon 11:21AM (4/13/2009)
Mother of God. How big are those wheels?
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Assass1n 11:39AM (4/13/2009)
Looks like 20"+ rims with 40" tires. Either way- it looks retarded.