2028 Jeep Scrambler: Everything We KnowAndrei Avarvarii - MotorTrendWhat It IsThe Jeep Scrambler is a two-door pickup truck based on the Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator. While the Gladiator has a military look with a low beltline, the higher-beltline Scrambler with a lower greenhouse is designed to convey muscularity and fun, styled to look strong instead of purposeful.Indeed, the Jeep team took the four-door Wrangler's underpinnings and played with the proportions; instead of four doors, they made the front doors significantly larger, like a coupe's, to make it easier to get to the back seat. And in the rear, the cap can come off. (Our renderings show what a two-seater spin-off might look like, incorporating the same design cues we have heard will be used. We like to dream.)The gee-whiz feature: The back seats face forward as you expect, but when you remove the cap at the back, you may also take out those seats and flip them to face backward for tailgating, complete with a step to more easily climb aboard. And with the top off, you can also fold the seats backward, laying them down to create a flat floor for a bed bigger than the bed in the Gladiator pickup.Why It MattersThe original Jeep Scrambler was the CJ-8 version, built from 1981 to '86. It was essentially a stretched CJ-7 with a small pickup bed and became a collector's item. Jeep brought the Gladiator back to the market in 2019, but that didn't stop calls to bring back a Scrambler, which will now be a halo vehicle for desert-running enthusiasts.Andrei Avarvarii - MotorTrendOf course, the company has teased Scrambler ideas with its annual bevy of Moab concepts for the Easter Jeep Safari, spending millions on assorted models that showcase cool ideas and features. But executives were called out constantly for not making actual vehicles based on those concepts. From what we've heard, the Scrambler has been described as a mashup of many of the things people said they liked, including a retro-inspired front end and square headlight surrounds instead of the round ones like the Wrangler's, with a large hood intake for the SRT version.Platform and PowertrainThe body-on-frame Scrambler pickup shares its underpinnings with the Wrangler and Gladiator, but expect it to be heavily modified. The biggest engineering change is the abandonment of the solid front axle in favor of an independent front suspension for better high-speed desert performance. It could also get an independent rear suspension for the capability expected of it as part of the off-road side of the Jeep brand. Jeep is, after all, divided into off-road and lifestyle vehicles.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe centerpiece will be the SRT version that could be powered by the 6.4-liter 392 Hemi V-8 engine teamed with an eight-speed automatic transmission. If there is also a less expensive model, it could use the new 2.0-liter Hurricane 4 Turbo or the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6.Estimated Price: $55,000–$80,000Expected On-Sale Date: 2028
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