Jeep J8 marks brand's return to military duty

Thai

Elite Member
Remember those Jeep Wrangler pickup spy shots? Now we know the details. That vehicle was one of the variants of the new Jeep J8. The J8 is based on the Wrangler Unlimited and has been designed for military and civilian government use. It sports a reinforced frame and upgraded suspension that includes the much-discussed rear leaf springs that were pointed out in the earlier spy photos. Maximum payload is 2,952 lbs. as a result.

It'll be offered as both a four-door that looks mostly like the civilian Wrangler Unlimited and a 2-door pickup. Jeep sneakily showed off the pickup body on the very awesome SEMA-bound JT Concept earlier this year. The J8 is designed to be very flexible, and will be available in a variety of seating/cargo configurations in both left- and right-hand drive (again, this explains the RHD version captured in spy photos).

Power comes from a 158-horsepower / 295 lb-ft 2.8L 4-cylinder turbodiesel mated to a 5-speed automatic and Jeep's Command-Trac 4WD system. The powertrain affords the J8 a maximum towing capacity of 7,716 lbs. Another feature unique to the J8 is its air-intake system, which uses a hood-mounted snorkel that lets it ford bodies of water up to 30 inches deep and operate in sandstorm conditions up to five hours.

For full information on the J8, follow the jump for the official press release from Jeep. The truck made its debut today at the DSEi trade show in London, and it will be produced in Cairo, Egypt at a Chrysler LLC joint-venture facility. It will officially become available next Spring, though only for military and civilian government use. Sorry, no civilian sales will be offered.
jeepj8_lo.jpg
 
Register to hide this ad
Nice...too bad 'we' can't get one...but what's the deal with what appears to be 'street tires'?

I would think it would have somelike like the BFGs KO at least...
 
jwyshrek said:
Nice...too bad 'we' can't get one...but what's the deal with what appears to be 'street tires'?

My only guess is that Jeep was testing it in sand...and in sand, the highway tires are better than the more aggressive tires.
 
Cool report - thanks. Wonder if they will ever make the PU for sale?

2 things about the new JK of question for me the odd motor and the fenders look a bit bent up - and much better color matched to the body. Other than that I love the look of the 4 door hard top!
 
Colemanfu said:
2 things about the new JK of question for me the odd motor and the fenders look a bit bent up - and much better color matched to the body. Other than that I love the look of the 4 door hard top!

The motor kinda sucks for sure. I think that Jeep may install a V8 in 2008 or 2009. I sure hope that they bring the diesel to the States...i just may be on the waiting list if that happens! The black fenders are made to bend and be a "throw-away" item if damaged while off-roading.

Rubicon SWB (2-door) + diesel + 5-speed auto = dream machine! :) I don't like the 4-door because the wheelbase is waaayyyy too long...breakover angle is poor.
 
Now that the Hummer is going to be replaced by many different up armord trucks "The Hummer was never ment to be an armord rig anyway" I could see where this Jeep could find a place as a multi purpose rig in the military doing many "Low conflict" jobs.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
278,316
Messages
3,554,121
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Trending content

Back
Top