Right now in Toledo, a badass World War Two-themed Wrangler is making its way down the assembly line as the Jeep brand celebrates its 75th anniversary today. Unfortunately, it’s just a concept, but that’s probably a good thing, because otherwise I’d be out about $35 grand.
The new one-off Wrangler is built on the base Sport trim, but Jeep hacked off the roll bar, threw the doors in a pile somewhere, and painted the Jeep the same olive-drab color found on the old Willys MB workhorse.
Called the 75th Wrangler Salute, the one-off Jeep has the same bumpers found on the built-for-Egypt J8, except it’s got the Toledo plant’s area code “419” stenciled on the passenger’s side. On the hood, taking the place of the original military identifier number, is today’s date, representing 75 years since the U.S. government awarded Willys-Overland the contract to build the old World War Two Willys MB.
I must say: sometimes it’s difficult to see a huge resemblance between the new JK Wrangler and an old MB or CJ (see the picture above), but with the hacked-off roll bar, the steel wheels, the non-directional tires, and the low-back seats, this one-off is almost a spittin’ image—even if it’s about 25% bigger.
I want one. I want one now.
UPDATE: The Jeep is complete. More photos below.