Do the Easter Jeep Safari Concepts Give Us a Glimpse Into the Next Jeep Pickup?
Every year, Jeep likes to let their designers and engineers loose to build some concepts to take to the Easter Jeep Safari at Moab. This year is no different, but there were two concepts shown that piqued a lot of interest. Why? Because they’re variations of a pickup truck, and we are all excited about the upcoming Jeep pickup.
The Crew Chief 715 “was built as a salute to legendary Jeep military service vehicles, in particular the Kaiser M715.” The off-road credentials are solid, including Dana axles, Fox external reservoir shocks, and military tires. But the 5′ utility bed makes this, obviously, look like a pickup truck.
At this point, we don’t know the specifics of the next Jeep Wrangler. Because of that reason alone, it’s difficult to say that this is how a Jeep pickup truck would look. The body and frame will be somewhat different on the next model.
Also, from a more practical standpoint, a considerable amount of body work needed to change to make the 715 possible. While it’s likely structurally solid, it’s unclear how it’d hold up in a government-mandated crash test.
The Comanche concept is built off a Jeep Renegade, and is a badass little truck. It also stirred up quite a response, mainly because FCA head Sergio Marchionne recently expressed interest in a small truck any mentioned that it wouldn’t have to be a body-on-frame pickup truck. But that conversation was targeted at the Ram Trucks brand, and not Jeep.
So, if you wanted to be a conspiracy theorist you could say that the Crew Chief 715 is the next pickup truck from Jeep, and the Comanche is the basis for the next small truck from Ram. Boom, this article is done. Mark it down as fact.
But wait…
As cool as the Comanche is, there’s no way that’s ever seeing production. I don’t even need to go to FCA and ask about it. Why? Because they had to completely destroy the vehicle to make it work. I did ask FCA what was involved in the conversion, and extra structural support underneath the Comanche needed to be added for the body to stay rigid. That’s just what happens you saw off the roof of a vehicle.
As for the final say on the Crew Chief 715 I’ll leave you with this; it’s a cool concept. It’s a heritage vehicle that’s designed to get everyone excited about the brand. But like the Comanche, it’s not something that’s bound for production. These concepts really exist to show the fan base that FCA hasn’t missed the plot with Jeep vehicles, and it should stand as a reminder to you all that when Jeep finally builds the pickup truck we so desperately want, they’ll make something that’s pretty awesome.
I think what is more telling about the concepts is the 2.0L diesel engine in the Comanche. Per Jeep, it’s a European-sourced engine. But the transmission and all-wheel drive system are the same as what is in the Renegade Trailhawk. Assuming that this engine could be federalized, it looks like it’d be pretty easy to get us a diesel Renegade on sale here in the United States. That would be awesome.
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