With Easter behind us so is the 2016 Easter Jeep® Safari. The event, which takes place every year in Moab, Utah unveiled seven awesome and strange Jeep SUV concepts. The Easter Jeep Safari is not unlike an auto show in the sense that what we see at the event is not necessarily a finalized version of a new Jeep vehicle but it is usually a hint of what’s to come in some way or the other.
The 50th annual Easter Jeep Safari also happens to be the same year that Jeep is celebrating its 75th anniversary. And the concepts that were shown definitely do justice to over half a century of fine American craftsmanship. Among the seven concepts, all of which were fully functional were some crazy ones like the 707 horsepower Jeep Trailcat. This is a hulked-out 2016 Jeep Wrangler that operates on the same engine as the 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat.
Despite many of the concepts being too wild or crazy to ever build and sell as a real-world option, there were a few that could be a taste of something to come. Most notably were the Jeep Crew Chief 715, and the Jeep Comanche. Both models are built on the same basic design as a Jeep Wrangler. The Crew Chief 715 sports a narrower and sleek Kaiser grille and 5-foot pickup bed in the back. It’s also based on the four-door Wrangler. The small Comanche has two doors and a canvas top, as well as the small pickup bed in the back, all built on a unibody design. The grille is also closer to that of the 2016 Jeep Renegade.
While Jeep automakers say the Wrangler isn’t going anywhere, they have noted that we can expect to see more development on smaller unibody design. Perhaps we’ll finally get the mini pickup truck we’ve always wanted from Jeep. And speaking of the Renegade, the Jeep Renegade Commander concept resembled a very real-world facade for a concept. It’s basically a 2016 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk with an extra 2-inches of lift and no swaybar.
At A. M. Maus and Son serving Kimball, MN Jeep drivers, we’re excited to see what’s in store for the future when it comes to the Jeep. In the meantime, stop on by for any service, parts, or to check out our current new and used Jeep vehicles like a brand new 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee.