Jeep has revealed the Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept, a two-door pickup conceived for high-speed desert running. Its CJ-8 Scrambler-inspired shape is immediately recognisable, but the major departure is underneath: Jeep says this is the first Wrangler-branded vehicle to use independent front suspension.
The bespoke long-travel front setup was developed with off-road racer Casey Currie. A Trophy Truck-inspired rear axle completes a suspension package intended to cope with fast, rough terrain rather than merely crawl over rocks. Jeep says the engineering builds on its earlier Gladiator Striker project, which Currie drove to a class victory in the NORRA 500. The choice of independent front suspension is especially telling because production Wranglers have traditionally retained a solid front axle.
Power comes from a HEMI V8 rated by Jeep at 470 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. The company has not specified the engine's displacement or the transmission, so identifying it as a particular production HEMI would be premature. Those figures are manufacturer's specifications for the concept, not independently verified performance results.
The body starts with a Wrangler platform but has been redesigned behind the A-pillars. Longer doors, wider fenders, a built-in pickup bed and a structural roll cage change both its proportions and its intended use. The rear bench can be turned through 180 degrees to face backward or removed to free up cargo space. Its orange Punk’n paint, bronze beadlock wheels and Sharknose-style front end add to the desert-racing character.
Jeep has already discussed bringing back the Scrambler name, but this show vehicle is not a finalized production specification. No sale date or price has been announced, and the company has not said which elements, particularly the independent front suspension and removable rear seats, would survive into a showroom model. For now, the Scrambler SRT is an engineering statement about what a fast, open-air Jeep pickup could become.