Auto Shows

2007 SEMA Auto Show

 

Advertisement

More in Auto Shows

Auto Shows Main Page
SEMA Main Landing
2007 SEMA Landing
Straightline from SEMA
2007 SEMA Photo Gallery
Auto Shows Site Map

More in Auto Shows

2007 SEMA Auto Show Video - Jeep Wrangler JT Concept

Pictures

Steel wheels and a tall stance give this Wrangler a much more utilitarian look than your average street-driven Jeep. The tires measure 35 inches tall and there are a full 13 inches of ground clearance.
Photo courtesy of Chrysler LLC
After extensive testing in the slick-rock territory of Moab, Utah, the Wrangler JT has proven worthy of its Jeep heritage. It came back in one piece despite plenty of scrapes from the Utah landscape.
Photo courtesy of Chrysler LLC
Jeep Wrangler JT Concept
Photo courtesy of Chrysler LLC

Jeep Wrangler JT Concept

STORY TOOLS
Print thisPrint this Save thisSave this Digg this storyDigg this
Email thisEmail this Most PopularMost popular del.icio.usdel.icio.us

What is it?
Jeep Wrangler JT Concept

What's special about it?
Considering the praise heaped upon Jeep's new Wrangler-derived J8 military utility vehicle by the disciples of the brand, it seemed only a matter of time before the company wheeled out a version with civilian intent.

The Wrangler JT is a one-off concept built by the engineers at Chrysler's special projects group. It started life as a leaf-sprung, military-spec Wrangler, but the engineering team swapped in a standard coil-spring setup from the latest Wrangler Unlimited that boosts ground clearance to 13 inches. The coils themselves are part of a 3-inch lift that clears the way for a set of 35-inch mud tires.

Sprayed a color with the unlikely name of "Hearing Aid Beige," the Wrangler JT concept is built on the Unlimited's stretched platform, with a 116-inch wheelbase, seats for two under a removable hardtop and a 5-foot pickup bed. There are new rock rails and tough Mopar bumpers with a 9,500-pound Warn winch up front. According to Jeep designer Aaron Pizzuti, very little fabrication was needed to build the JT. "The idea was to build a Wrangler pickup that required minimal changes to the standard configuration," he tells us.

The JT uses the Wrangler's 3.8-liter V6, which is good for 202 horsepower and 237 pound-feet of torque. It's matched to a four-speed automatic and, naturally, the Rubicon's Rock-Trac four-wheel-drive transfer case. Jeep gave the JT an informal debut earlier this year at the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, where it proved its mettle on the notorious Hell's Revenge trail. The SEMA show floor should be a snap.

What's Edmunds' take?
Jeep fans had high hopes for a production version of the Gladiator concept from the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, but that project died quietly in the Chrysler boardroom. But it's a new day in Auburn Hills, and the JT is a new pickup. Hewing as closely to the Unlimited as it clearly does, this one seems tantalizingly ready for its showroom debut. — Matt Phenix, Contributor