From their beginnings in the midst of the Second World War, Jeeps have always been some of the toughest and most reliable off-road vehicles on the planet. The company's lineup today is a world away from what anyone would have ever imagined back in the '40s, but the same ethos of all-terrain versatility persists across all their models. To carve themselves a place in the modern market, Jeep has had to constantly innovate to keep up with long-time rivals and emerging competition. Showing off these innovations and ideas has meant building dozens of concept cars, some crazier than others.
Of course, many of these concepts never made it to production, either because they weren't intended to be mass-manufactured or because they weren't financially viable. That's meant that plenty of amazing concepts over the years have been simply consigned to the archives, leaving the unique ideas and designs they carried to fade into obscurity. Diving into Jeep's back catalog will unearth plenty of gems, but these ten, in particular, deserve more attention than they get. Whether it's an off-road sports car or a convertible Cherokee, Jeep never fails to surprise enthusiasts with their incredible concept vehicles.
10 Sandstorm
Starting things off with a relatively recent addition to Jeep's concept catalog, the Sandstorm is a Wrangler that's been modified and then some. Unveiled in 2018, it was built to withstand the harsh conditions of Baja desert racing, but still, be comfortable enough for the ride home afterward.
It's a very similar philosophy to that of the SCG Boot, except the Boot looks like a deranged spider with wheels whereas the Sandstorm just looks like... well, a Jeep. Many of the modifications used on the Sandstorm are available on the consumer aftermarket so it would be theoretically possible to make a clone of it with enough money and effort. However, it doesn't look like Jeep will be offering a Wrangler like this from the factory any time soon.
9 Chief
The first of several retro-modern concepts to be featured here, the Chief takes a classic design and places it on a modern platform. It caused quite a stir when it was released in 2015, but like all of Jeep's other nostalgic concepts so far, there are no plans to make a production version.
The Chief uses the underpinnings from a JK Wrangler, with reportedly very few modifications needed to fit this new body shell. The car is fully functional and has been driven by Car and Driver, who noted that the Chief had been so well used as a press vehicle that some of the custom trim was starting to rattle loose. Ah well, better to get the use out of it than just have it sitting around looking good.
8 Quicksand
Jeep seems to have a penchant for naming concepts after natural hazards, as the Quicksand concept is a Wrangler that's also a hot rod. Unlike the similarly hazardous Sandstorm concept, the Quicksand isn't specifically built for desert racing. But, with beefy BFGoodrich tires and lockable diffs, it'll still be able to conquer almost any terrain.
It's powered by a 6.4L V8 that makes 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. It was brought along to the 2017 Easter Jeep Safari, an annual gathering of brand aficionados that Jeep has unveiled a ton of cool concepts at in recent years.
7 Freedom ('90)
Today the Jeep Freedom nameplate is used for models that pay tribute to the service of U.S. Military members, but back in 1990, it was used for an altogether different concept. The 1990 Freedom takes a Cherokee and chops its roof off, turning it into a four-door off-road convertible.
A huge cross brace was installed to prevent body roll, but other than that the Freedom was a completely open cabin Jeep. It still retained all the standard Cherokee internals, so it wouldn't have been too difficult for the company to put the Freedom into production. How much real-world demand there would have been for such a niche vehicle is a different matter, and that's likely to be the reason the Freedom stayed as just a one-off concept.
6 Bolide XJ-002
The words "Jeep" and "sports car" are seldom seen in the same sentence, and yet in 1970, the New York Auto Show saw a concept that was exactly that. Built on the chassis of a Jeepster Commando, the Bolide XJ-002 radically re-imagined what a Jeep could look like, taking a sports coupe body and superimposing it onto an off-road-ready frame.
Built by the American engineer Dann Deaver and showcased by Jeep at the show, the XJ-002 was completely unlike anything the company had made before. It drew a considerable amount of public attention but Jeep had no interest in making a production version and the concept was eventually sold off. It was lost for decades, but was eventually found by a determined collector on a farm in West Virginia and is in the process of being restored back to its original state.
5 M-715 Five-Quarter
Another of Jeep's coolest Easter Safari concepts is the M-715 Five-Quarter, a modern tribute to the classic M715 of the '60s. This 2019 concept is powered by a 6.2L Hellcat V8 and it features 40" tires for the ultimate all-terrain capability.
The custom fabrication work was made using a mix of aluminum and carbon fiber, which helps keep the weight of the truck to a minimum. Like most of Jeep's other concepts, the Five-Quarter is fully functional and was demonstrated at Moab in 2019, but unfortunately, there's no indication that the brand is planning to put anything like this into production.
4 Hurricane
The final hazard-themed concept on this list is the Hurricane, and it's arguably the craziest of all of them. It sports not one but two Hemi V8 engines, each making 335 hp, for a total of 670 hp and 740 lb-ft of torque. It also features a four-wheel steering system that allows the Hurricane to "crab walk".
It debuted in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show, but in the years since then Jeep has never implemented this crab walk feature into any of its production vehicles. GM, however, has taken the idea for themselves and has used it in the upcoming Hummer EV, which is scheduled to launch in 2022.
3 Jeepster ('98)
The idea of a Jeep hot rod like the Quicksand isn't a new one, as the company has been toying with the idea for decades. One of their earlier attempts was the 1998 Jeepster concept. A V8-powered off-road sports car, the Jeepster was a 'performance crossover' long before the term even existed.
It was ahead of its time in other ways too, with a sleek body that was hugely different from the production Jeeps of the time. It was too radical for Jeep to consider making a consumer version but had they done so they'd no doubt have a future classic on their hands.
2 Mighty FC
A forward-cab monster Jeep sounds like a crazy idea, and the Mighty FC concept certainly lives up to expectations. Jeep built a fully-functional prototype in 2013 and there were rumors at the time that the company might be looking to put a similar vehicle into production.
However, it's since been pointed out that the Mighty FC would never have been able to meet modern crash test standards, nor would it be financially viable as anything other than a curious novelty. Practicalities aside, it's a huge shame that there's no way to drive one of these on the road, as it looks nothing short of incredible.
1 Trailcat
The luminous green Trailcat takes all of Jeep's off-roading know-how and cranks things up to 11. It's a monster Wrangler with a Hellcat engine stuffed inside, with power fed through a six-speed manual transmission. It's gloriously silly, and it would probably be fiendishly difficult to keep all 707 horses under control on the road.
It's hard to imagine any car fan that would turn down an opportunity to drive this crazy Jeep, although sadly there's only one Trailcat and it's now safely locked away in a secure storage facility somewhere. It did the rounds at the 2016 Easter Safari and made appearances at a few other car shows but now it seems like the monster has been caged and there are no plans to make any more of them any time soon.