At the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab later this month, Jeep is again bringing concept red meat to its core tribe, teasing them and us with what could be available in future catalogs or showrooms.
Playing the retro card is the Chief Concept. A tribute to the 1970s Jeep Cherokee wagons, the Ocean Blue concept marries the classic body silhouette and grille with the upright windshield and interior of the modern day Wrangler.
It’s basically a custom body around the Wrangler’s bones that looks the part well. They even put together some convincing versions of the 1970′s slotted aluminum wheels in 17-inch size. The interior is dolled up for the surfer guy, who obviously likes pink flowers on his white leather seats. Don’t you?
The more modern and Mopar catalog sourced Wrangler concept is the Red Rock Responder. It features a high-top rear fender flare treatment, which extends the cargo area and gives a pickup silhouette in a way Jeep still doesn’t offer for regular production.
A collection of LED lighting, suspension and aggressive wheels set it up for off-road capability above and beyond. While most of what you see here can be bought through Mopar for your own Wrangler, a set of rock rails here are prototypes.
Going to Jeep’s roots is the Staff Car concept which is pure military. A fully open interior and body color everything gives it an authentic look and feel yet features all the modern comforts. Well, perhaps except the flat seats.
Steel wheels bring much of the convincing style here along with a canvas roof. While some elements could never be made production feasible, it would be fun to see a special edition Wrangler based on this one.
The concept vehicle I liked best is the Wrangler Africa concept. Taking a page from well, let’s just say other brands, the Africa has the fully enclosed passenger compartment in retro style that is distinctly made for a safari.
With an extended rear cargo area, the Jeep Wrangler Africa concept stays purpose built in theme with steel wheels and a pure plain wrapper style. Under that hood is also a tantalizing 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel.
All of them are pretty damn nice. Some you can build with Mopar parts, others we can only hope Jeep will put in a showroom someday.
