JEEP JEEPSTER, 1998
Every carmaker wants it all – to have its lifestyle cake and eat it. A sporting SUV, an off-roading lifestyle convertible, or a stylish MPV. Perhaps Jeep invented that first one with its Jeepster concept back in 1998.
The name might seem a bit derivative, but not everyone could have pulled it off.
A Ford Fordster, sure, but could you imagine a Volvoster or a Kiaster? It just wouldn’t work. Jeep actually admitted it was originally called “Project Grizzly”, so it could’ve been a lot worse.
But jeepers, the name actually had some heritage in the company’s illustrious history
– the Jeepster was an attempt in 1948 by Willys-Overland to create a commercially viable ‘civilian Jeep’ that was less austere than the famous military version. There was a wagon, a truck and a roadster version (hence the Jeepster name), an ominous foreshadowing of the Range Rover Evoque convertible.
The aim of the Jeepster concept, said Chrysler’s then head of design Mike Moore, was to have “the power and excitement of a sports car coupled with the capability and rugged go-anywhere nature of a Wrangler”. Which is a fancy way to describe something that looks like a Wrangler got sat on by a bear.
For the rough stuff there was fourwheel-independent electrically adjustable suspension that could adjust the car’s ride height through 100mm, aluminium skid plates and a four-speed auto. The Jeepster was the first look at Jeep’s then-new QuadraTrac II four-wheel-drive system (still used on the Grand Cherokee today) that had a two-speed chain driven transfer case and allowed the car to be RWD under normal conditions.
For performance you got a 4.7-litre V8 petrol engine, 19in wheels covered in fancy Goodyear tyres and 75mm diameter dual exhaust pipes. The suspension didn’t just adjust for ground clearance, it was designed to optimise the aerodynamics at speed. The weight was kept under control, too – the car’s 1,542kg seems bantamweight by today’s lardy standards.
The Jeepster was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show to rapturous applause, with showgoers particularly impressed by Jeep’s claim that the car was rated to do its notoriously beastly Rubicon trail. Presumably without messing your hair or knocking your expensive sunglasses askew, either.
This concept never made it into production – perhaps it was too far ahead of its time, because it looks like a lot of cars that are launched these days. It was thought that Jeep’s upcoming baby electric SUV would feature the Jeepster name, but it’s since been announced that Jeep won’t be completing the name circle, instead calling it Avenger. Shame.