Exec calls new Jeep ‘unmistakable badass’
Shows off V8-powered Rubicon 392
Jamie Standring, chief engineer for performance SUVS at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, has a description that Jeep fans will appreciate for the new 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392.
He calls it an “unmistakable badass on the road.”
That’s what you get when you drop a 6.4-liter V8 engine into a Wrangler, the first time a V8 has been in what is now known as the Wrangler in decades. The production version of this highly anticipated new Wrangler, made in Toledo, got its first showing in a virtual unveiling on Youtube.
You could ask why do this, but then you’re already missing the point. Jeepers do all kinds of things to their Wranglers.
“So many modified Jeep Wranglers are out there in the world that we were able to hide in plain sight during all of our testing adventures,” Standring said recently, noting that Wrangler 392s have been on the road since May 2019 in Arizona, Utah, California and in the mud of Michigan’s Drummond Island.
So why do it?
“That’s what our customers want. That’s what the Wrangler fans have been asking for over and over probably as much as they want bigger tires on these vehicles,” said Micky Bly, head of propulsion systems for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
The engine, which is mated to an eight-speed automatic, delivers 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. The 392 can manage a 0-60 mph time in 4.5 seconds, and in a twist for a Wrangler, FCA says it can make the quarter mile in 13 seconds. Yes, they tested it on a drag strip.
As noted, a V8 hasn’t been near a production Wrangler variant in decades. Fiat Chrysler happens to have a 1973 CJ5 with a 304 V8 in its museum fleet, according to an email from spokesman Nick Cappa. That engine was introduced in the CJ5 in 1972 and wrapped up in the CJ7 in 1981, phased out because of lower V8 production.
That version managed 125 horsepower and 220 pound-feet of torque. Those were probably pretty big numbers then but would be considered anemic now, Bly said.
Of course, if you’re buying a V8, you want the rumble of a V8, and so the 392 has that covered with its tuned exhaust.
The active dual exhaust system switches from standard drivearound-the-neighborhood-and-keepthe-peace” mode to a performance mode, “where everybody knows that you’re driving that V8 by the sound,” Bly said.
dential use,” said Lee Brown, Worthington’s director of planning and building.
On the first floor, the owner plans to lease to a restaurant tenant and potentially another commercial-type use, depending on how much space the restaurant would need, Brown said.
The owners intend to “redecorate” the ground floor space into something more manageable than the approximate 15,000 square feet of restaurant and banquet space the inn formerly maintained. The plans also call for minor exterior modifications, including new windows and doors. These modifications were approved by the review board.
The renovations are projected to cost approximately $400,000.
With the review board’s approval, the property’s owner, 649 High LLC, is free to move forward with the redevelopment. 649 High LLC involves the same group that has owned the property since 1982, according to the permit application.
A phone number for the New England Development Co., a Worthington realestate firm, was listed on the application. Messages left seeking comment for this story were not returned.
According to the application, the owners expect to begin construction in early 2021 and complete renovations by late summer. The building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has undergone several changes in its 189 years. Originally a private residence, the building functioned as an inn by the mid-1850s. The Victorian facade facing High Street in downtown Worthington
was added in the early 1900s. In 1937, after a major renovation, the property reopened as the New England Inn. It closed on Dec. 31, 2018. sborgna@thisweeknews.com @Thisweeksteve