Jeep WAGONEER ROADTRIP
A blast from the past, the Wagoneer Roadtrip is based on a genuine Jeep Wagoneer from 1965, which was Jeep’s first luxury 4x4 model and aimed at suburban families rather than adventurers.
Built from 1963 to 1991, the Wagoneer was also the first American four-wheel drive vehicle to offer an automatic transmission, pioneering the modern SUV.
While it looks largely stock from the outside, the Wagoneer Roadtrip features some subtle exterior changes, like the polished razor grille and green-tinted glass, but under that original all-steel body (which was sourced from California), the chassis has been significantly altered.
To start with, the wheelbase was stretched five inches (12.7cm), with the wheelarch openings reshaped and modified to accept the additional length, while custom wheelarch flares cover the concept’s wider track.
Off-road capability has been bolstered courtesy of a boxed and reinforced frame, while Dana 44 front and rear axles with lockers have been fitted, along with a four-link suspension with coilover springs.
Those wheels point to the Roadtrip being something out of the ordinary, too. They’re larger and wider-than-stock 17-inch steelies wrapped in 33-inch BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain tyres.
Inside, the Wagoneer’s original front and rear bench seats, door and rear panels are 1965 authentic, but have been re-trimmed in Oxblood-coloured leather. A wicker headliner provides what Jeep says is an open, lighter feel to the interior, while the floor, like that of many Jeep concepts this year, has been bedlined.
The Wagoneer Roadtrip is powered by a modern 5.7-litre HEMI V8, but when it was new, this Wagoneer, like all early versions, was powered by Jeep’s own ‘Tornado’ 230ci (3.8lt) inline six. In late 1965, AMC’s 5.4lt V8 became optional, with a 5.7-litre Buick V8 available from 1968.
The concept’s V8 has been matched to a four-speed automatic transmission.
Cool detail touches on the Wagoneer Roadtrip concept include an esky made from period-correct luggage, while the tool box was fashioned from the valve cover of the Wagoneer’s original 230 Tornado six.
