by Matt Konkle
Torque Editor-in-Chief
Artwork with attitude. That’s usually how Jeep operates these days when teasing out images of new concepts, or vehicles it is bringing to market. Something eye-catching with plenty of intrigue.
And this year’s upcoming Specialty Equipment Market Association convention is no different for the automaker as it on Monday showed off images of five vehicles it plans to bring to the Nevada desert in early November.
The first, in stark contrast to that desert where it will live for a week, is either a hybrid or all-electric Rubicon Wrangler drawn up right under the northern lights and in front of snowy hills. The vehicle is complete with the requisite charging port right by the driver door, and displays what is probably new Mopar Performance lighting attached to the hood.
The next one appears to be an interesting military-inspired rendering of perhaps a 1960s-type Gladiator, and gets the goosebumps flowing with memories of that Crew Chief 715 concept from a few years back. Jeep designers definitely have a soft spot for the vehicle’s military history and this one is decked out in that familiar green paint scheme, along with three auxiliary spot lights, fence-style grille guard over the familiar older Gladiator face and a flat bumper that has 'B33RM3' faintly stenciled on the driver side. A cursory look through military jargon doesn't show a match to those letters, so for now we'll have to wait and see what Mopar has in mind on that stencil.
The final Jeep sketch looks to be another Wrangler, but this one has some type of raised roof system in place of the traditional hard or soft top. Additionally, while the angle makes it hard to tell, it is possible the roll cage has been slightly modified as well — turning this Wrangler into what is most likely more of an overlanding machine.
One other interesting thing to note on all three of these pictures — the date under that signature reflects 2020, so these are all probably concepts Jeep planned to take to SEMA last year, before the whole thing swapped to a virtual setup.
The other two renderings that complete Monday's design releases are for the Ram truck gang, and they do check off the performance and overlanding categories as well.
The performance angle is filled by what appears to be a TRX edition, which is normally a 702-hp Hellcat-powered monster. However, going off the blue plated Ram logo on the grille and blue tow hooks, this could also be some type of hybrid edition.
The final sketch shows off Ram’s capability as an overlander, as it is parked next to a campsite and displays what is probably a new type of rack system from Mopar. While the vehicle itself does not have any identifying badging on its tailgate, the body styling indicates it is a 1500 edition that has been bulked up a bit for the rigors of off-road overland use.
A Stellantis release on the vehicles didn’t offer any specifics, or if any other images would be unveiled in the coming days. However, if the automaker’s pattern remains the same as previous year releases, it will most likely show off the actual vehicles closer to SEMA — before revealing them at the event.
Additionally, Jeep loves to slather all their concept vehicles with as many new Mopar Performance Products as possible, so no doubt it will bring along tons of performance items designed for Wrangler and Gladiator that will be available in the coming months.
SEMA is slated to run from November 2-5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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