Jeep is keeping up its slow roll-out of teasers ahead of this year’s Easter Safari – its annual Utah off-roading gathering, where it typically shows off a half-dozen hand-built prototypes – with a fourth “flag marker” indicating precisely where the company sits on criticisms á la “They don’t build ’em like they used to!” See, this latest one-off off-roader will make that maxim out to be only half-right.
Because while it’s true they did build ’em for the military – in numbers reaching clear over the half-million mark – they didn’t build ’em like this, with an electric powertrain underneath.
“The Jeep brand loves a good trip down memory lane,” the press release explains, before promising this year’s Safari will see an “homage to a Jeep vehicle of the past” that blends “military grit and determination with 4xe electric vehicle technology.”
The accompanying teaser illustration shows us what Jeep means, the sketch showing off an olive-drab Wrangler with “Rubicon” stenciled on its hood, military-style, but spelled “RU31-CON,” with a “/4XE” at the end letting you this army-themed off-roader is also battery-powered.
Exactly how the automaker will pull off this concept will have to be seen on the dirt in Moab, Utah, but at least we know ahead of time that Jeep isn’t bashful about bringing its past and future together in ways that might make some traditionalists less-than-happy. Stance on electrified retro 4x4s: marked.
Keyword: Jeep's latest Easter Safari teaser blends military past and EV motors