Concept Vehicles Unveiled for 2014 Easter Jeep Safari

For the last 48 years, Jeep and off-road guys have been gathering in Moab, Utah for the annual Easter Jeep Safari to celebrate everything that is the Jeep lifestyle. Starting in 2002, Jeep and their in-house skunkworks team Mopar Underground, decided to start releasing concept vehicles to show Jeep enthusiasts what could be done with their vehicles.

To date, they’ve produced over 40 concepts for hardcore off-roaders, including the mil-spec diesel Jeep J8 a few years back. This year they’re focusing on using production Jeep parts, along with their new line of accessories from Jeep Performance Parts to create concept vehicles that customers can actually build themselves. While we’d love to see something like the Mighty FC concept again, we’re just as excited to be shown things we can actually build ourselves.

New for Jeep is the Cherokee, and they’ve built two concepts to show everyone that they’re not just a mall crawler. The Cherokee Dakar concept fuses details inspired by the world’s toughest rally, with some serious off-road bits like 33-inch tires. The Cherokee Adventurer caters to the backroad explorer with a more aggressive all-terrain tire, roof storage, and a new Jeep Cargo Management System; which allows you to keep your gear organized on the trail. Both Cherokee concepts are outfitted with an array of skid plates to keep the belly of the small 4WD protected.

Returning just under 30 mpg on the highway, the Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel Trail Warrior is exactly what sounds like—an eco-friendly trail machine. Outfitted with height-adjustable air suspension, rock rails, and a 44:1 crawl ratio, and a prototype Mopar roof basket, it’ll get you where you need to go in comfort. Just like it’s little brother, the Cherokee Adventurer concept, it is outfitted with time-proven aggressive BFGoodrich All Terrain tires. We’re most excited about the 420 ft/lbs of torque.

It wouldn’t be Easter Jeep Safari without a new concept Jeep Wrangler, and they’ve delivered three this year, each with progressive capability. They might not be the insane concepts of past years, but you’ll be able to build these without an entire team of Jeep designers behind you. The Wrangler Level Red is built to tackle off-road trails of the highest difficulty—hence the name Level Red. With an impressive 73:1 crawl ratio thanks to the 4:10 ratio-equipped Jeep Performance Parts Dana 44 crate axles and the 4:1 Rock-Trac transfer case, there’s few rocks this Wrangler won’t crawl up. It rides on a two-inch JPP lift and seriously aggressive 35-inch BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2 tires and prototype headlock wheels.

The Wrangler MOJO (the OJ in the name stands for “Orange Jeep”) with its 37-inch tires is built to go places even the Level Red concept can’t go. Hardcore Jeep enthusiasts will quickly take note of the smaller details of the MOJO. Which includes a prototype headlock wheelset (shared with the Level Red), and factory-looking flat top high-fenders that allow the 37-inch tires to be used with only 2-inches of lift. The concept is protected from boulders by “Shorty” bumpers from Jeep Performance Parts and receives half doors for that classic Jeep experience.

For the hard-core rock crawler who wants a vehicle that can be daily-driven, the Wrangler Maximum Performance takes things to the next-level. Bomb-proof Dana 60 axles with push-button electric-locking differentials and 4:88 gearing are fitted front and rear to handle the massive the 37-inch BFGoodrich KM2 tires. It also receives a prototype 4-inch lift kit to fit the tires and give it additional capability and performance on the trail. There’s also a prototype LED light bar mounted above the windshield and LED headlights to replace the weaker stock units.