Autoblog

UPDATE: Mike Levine at Pickuptruck.com speculates that Jeep may be going after the postal fleet market. These mules are right-hand drive (to reach mailboxes perhaps?) and leaf springs (to handle the heavy load of mail maybe?)

click above image for high-res gallery

Everyone fawned over the Jeep JT Concept when they saw what it could actually do. Jeep fanboys and casual admirers alike all recognized that such a small, light-duty pickup would do wonders for the Jeep brand, and if these spy photos from KGP Photography are anything to by, then it appears Jeep is listening. Read the report from KGP below and check out the gallery of high-res spy shots that confirms Jeep is at least developing a Wrangler-based pickup.

We got up-close and personal with what appears to be a mule for a Wrangler-based pickup truck, right along the lines of the Jeep JT truck concept. The rear doors of a four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited have been welded shut, and the black composite roof structure has been extended forward to the B-pillar. The roll-down side glass has been replaced with a solid window.

More after the jump...

[Photos: KGP Photography]

Are you pining for a production version of the Jeep Gladiator concept? If so, you'll probably wish you could have a crack at the vehicle above, as well.

Tiger Auto of Japan created a special Wrangler pickup for the Tokyo Auto Gallery, and it looks just fine to us. The boys at Tiger took a standard Jeep TJ, stretched the wheelbase 600mm (23.6 in) and then custom-fabricated the rear cab enclosure and the pickup bed. They documented the whole build in a series of photoessays on their website. (Look for the links labeled "Lung Ra" pickup.)

The result is a very well-finished neo-Scrambler whose overall length matches that of a new Commander. A modest 2" lift, custom convertible top, Recaros, and wheel/tire upgrade add the finishing touches. We're big fans of the old-school embossed Jeep logo on the tailgate, too. This one-off by Tiger is much more appealing than the Scrambler concept shown at the 2005 NADA meeting. The NADA Scrambler was oddly-proportioned and pretty strange-looking.

We'd love for DaimlerChrysler to greenlight a production version of the Gladiator, but in lieu of that, we'd happily take Tiger Auto's Wrangler pickup. It may be the best Scrambler on the road today. Pity there's only one of them.

(Rear shot after the jump)

[Source: Tiger Auto via Response.jp]