'Every kind of terrain': Jeep brings 4 concepts to Moab off-roading festival

Jeep has brought four concept vehicles to its testing grounds and self-described "home away from home" of Moab, Utah, this week for the 58th edition of the Easter Jeep Safari.

The custom Jeeps include two overhauled Wranglers — one featuring a 392 V-8 engine, the other a 4xe hybrid that pays homage to the post-World War II civilian Jeeps. Two other vehicles the brand has in Utah's high desert are a Gladiator pickup kitted out with an array of Mopar parts, and a Grand Wagoneer SUV that's practically a camper van.

Each spring around 20,000 Jeep enthusiasts descend on the southern Utah town of about 5,000 residents for the gathering that's organized by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers club. The surrounding region is littered with public four-wheeling trails that include off-camber red-rock surfaces, sandy washes and mountain views.

"It does provide kind of the perfect place to try out all these these concepts and to actually use the Jeep vehicles to their fullest," said Vince Galante, Jeep vice president for exterior design. "One of the reasons that we love Moab so much is you can basically have every kind of terrain there from the slickrock, to sand, to dirt and mud. Sometimes you get to drive through water."

Over the past few years Jeep has tested different versions of an all-electric Wrangler concept, the Magneto, at the Moab gathering — no surprise considering Jeep plans to start rolling out several EV offerings starting later this year. But all the concepts this year are either fully gas-powered, or plug-in hybrids.

Off-road testing in Moab over the years has influenced a number of production Jeep designs, Galante said, from more robust wheels, to offering a factory-installed winch on the 2024 Wrangler, to providing external tow hooks — and showing them off by painting them red.

Willys Dispatcher — Designers mixed retro looks from a post-war Jeep, including the "steelie" wheels, radioactive green color and an old-school bumper, with a modern 4xe plug-in hybrid powertrain. Inside it's got saddle leather seats and "houndstooth" cloth inserts.

"We wanted to do a deep dive into the early civilian life of Jeeps, so when they came home from military duty and pivoted to civilian life, what was the landscape of America? What was the pop culture? What was everything like?" said Chris Piscitelli, a senior manager for Jeep exterior design.

Low Down — This model aims to pay homage to a concept that Jeep designers brought to Moab 15 years ago, the Lower 40. It's got regular height — but massive mud tires thanks to custom carbon fenders, and is powered by a huge V-8 with 475 horsepower. "It's kind of a caricature, in the best way possible … this thing is an absolute beast," Piscitelli said.

Rubicon High Top — Jeep designers said this Gladiator pickup concept is aimed to stretch the boundaries of using performance parts that any Jeep enthusiast can order. "It sort of makes builds like this a roadmap, or a blueprint, for anybody building their own Jeep at home, or if somebody that just needs a little bit of inspiration to get their build going," said Matt Hilburn, manager for Mopar and Jeep Performance Parts.

Vacationeer — The exterior of the big customized Wagoneer SUV includes a spearmint paint job with a wood-grain stripe, a nod back to the Wagoneers of old. It's got massive mud tires, skid plates, a winch — and a tricked-out rooftop tent called the RedTail Overland Skyloft, which has climate control. "There is no second or third-row seat, and we've actually removed the rear sunroof so you can get access to the tent from the interior of the vehicle," Hilburn said. "So you just open up that back door and can go right up in the tent."

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