For a decade, Jeep has been teasing the world with the potential of a Wrangler-make pick-up truck. And to the delight of 4WD-drive-ophiles everywhere, last January, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed the happening.
Then, spy shots from the JL Wrangler Forums showed it’s real. Kudos to whatever aerial sleuth is out there hunting prototypes instead of Pokemon. Not that the new pick-up iteration would be hard to miss — it’s huge.
Things we do know looking at the snaps: we’re seeing a decent sized bed in the five-foot range, an ultra-long wheelbase and what appears to be Ram-esque lights. The grill has evolved to a seven-slot with smaller ribs and larger spacing — and we’re not sure why.
Things we can speculate on based on rumored tid bits: the pick-up will keep the Wrangler body-on-frame build but with an increased use of aluminum cutting weight and increasing efficiency. Additionally, there’s murmurs of a new 300 HP turbocharaged four-cylinder engine named Hurricane, and an EcoDiesel and a hybrid version to boot.
The interior paparazzi shots show some new powertrains using an eight-speed automatic, perhaps in an effort to make a massive, bulky box of earth-sucking metal more efficient.
But for now, the waiting game continues as we hold our breath for the official release said to be between the end of next year and 2019.
Photo via: Jeep
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