V8 Wrangler Rubicon 392 Concept drive review by MotorTrend

[Young04]

I haven't read it yet...

Full review @ https://www.motortrend.com/cars/jee...-v-8-concept-first-drive-review-specs-photos/

Conclusion --

Should Jeep Build The Rubicon 392? Can You Say 'No Brainer'?
The only real question here is whether Jeep will pull the trigger on this thing. The business case is a no-brainer. V-8 conversion kits for modern Wranglers start just under $6,000 uninstalled and go up from there, so even if it adds a few grand to the MSRP, customers will be lined up down the block. The bigger issues Jeep will have to face come in the form of the EPA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations, which penalize automakers for building too many gas-guzzlers of the type parent company Stellantis, formerly FCA, has many of thanks to its addiction to big, giant, glorious V-8s. (During my drive, the 392 Hemi Wrangler was self-reporting a 9.4-mpg fuel-economy average.) There's also the question of how the physically larger V-8 engine will affect crash testing.
But again, Jeep will sell so many of these things it can afford to pay for any engineering fixes and whatever the CAFE fines will be. The V-8 Wrangler is awesome, and Jeep should build it yesterday.

Full review @ https://www.motortrend.com/cars/jee...-v-8-concept-first-drive-review-specs-photos/

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[Young04]

MT staff got 9.4mpg. That's even worse than expected.

 

[aldo98229]

0-60 in under 5 seconds!

Quote from the article:

“Jeep's people say it's still "taking feedback" on the concept, and after driving the beast, our feedback is this: Stop talking and start building.”

 

[aldo98229]

‘nother quote:

“Picture this: A slow-moving car that's been hogging the left lane has finally moved out of the way. You floor it, the exhaust opens, and the rolling roadblock watches a Wrangler go screaming past, headlights pointed at the sky, engine screaming like a Challenger, driver hanging onto the steering wheel for dear life. May we all live that dream.”

 

[JimLee]

Weekend outing, no problem...

 

[hoag4147]

engine screaming like a Challenger, driver hanging onto the steering wheel for dear life.

They might not have to hold on for dear life if they had done the TSB.

 

[JimLee]

They might not have to hold on for dear life if they had done the TSB.

Then they would have "notchy steering" to complain about.

 

[txj2go]

MT staff got 9.4mpg. That's even worse than expected.

They could have been doing all 1/4 mile runs. On the highway at steady speed maybe it won't be great but it should do better than that.

I'm sure a lot of people would buy that vehicle so if they are trying to sell more cars this would be a success.

 

[brookst]

Half doors!

 

[rkj__]

Certainly does not sound like a refined highway cruiser, but the highway has never been where the Wrangler has shined.

 

[Punjabi New Yorker]

My guess is that the 392 will be a $10k adder to a JLUR versus the 3.6 Pentastar with a Manual Transmission at the minimum. The Jeep will be a dream come true off roaders due to the 37 inch bead lock tires, the 2.5 inch extra lift, the torque and that V8 Noise. Many non off roaders will buy it also due to a status symbol. Then they will complain about it's Highway Stability and the MPG afterwards. Won't be surprised if Jeep sells less than a thousand of these per year should they manufacture this.

 

[IceBerg]

this is probably going to be $60k base price and not offer any lockers or a Rubicon model

 

[Oncorhynchus]

Half doors!

nuff said

 

[moodywizard]

Wow, what happened to all the "informed" people stating they already built x x amount of them and definitely going to be released....crickets.

 

[sinisterj]

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