Jeep Concepts – Stitch, Flattop and Trailhawk
Moab Concepts show three very different ways to Jeep
By Imthishan Giado
When I arrived at the stunning Resort at Squaw Creek Road in sumptuously-scenic Lake Tahoe, the first thing I noticed were three rather unusual Jeeps parked in the foyer, outrageous Tonka toys that couldn’t possibly be real vehicles – or road legal.
While they aren’t road legal, they are very much real. First unveiled at the Easter Moab Jeep Safari, these three vehicles are officially ‘concepts’ but applying that tag would be selling them short. More than just designer flights of fancy, these trucks show how Jeep is influenced by the tremendously alterative aftermarket for their products, and how they might approach the tricky problem of producing a successor to the evergreen Wrangler.
Jeep Trailhawk
First up is the Cherokee Trailhawk, easily spotted thanks to its searingly-effective blood-orange paint. A hyper-extreme version of the Cherokee, under the hood it’s sporting the EcoDiesel V6 engine (which would be perfect for offroading but we won’t get it because no one buys diesel luxury SUVs in the Gulf – sad face) and sitting on fat, fat, FAT 35-inch Mickey Thompson off-road tyres, mounted on 17-inch Rubicon wheels.
Meats that size don’t just magically bolt on. Hence, the Trailhawk has had a little visit from the plastic surgeon with custom fender flares to place the giant boots. Underneath, custom front and rear skid plates, one-off custom Mopar rock rails make sure everything’s safe and sound in the rough stuff.
Oh, and if you’re thinking the front looks a little familiar, that’s because the hood and front fascia are borrowed from the mighty SRT8 with a few alterations for better ground clearance.
Stitch
No, not a Jeep take on the beloved Disney film about an adorable alien. Stitch is in fact, a sequel to a highly regarded earlier concept, the never-coming-to-the-Middle-East-for-sure Pork Chop. Basically, this is Jeep’s balls-out, super-light Wrangler; of interest for sure considering the next one will almost certainly be lighter than the current generation.
One thing is for certain – it won’t be light as this car. The current two-door Wrangler weighs in at a hefty 1759kg; Stitch has been pared down to 1360kg, which incidentally gives it the same power-to-weight ratio as the Grand Cherokee SRT. Adding power through lightness – the ghost of Colin Chapman must be working at Jeep now.
How did they do it? By removing absolutely everything that wasn’t essential to getting the vehicle moving. Rear seats? Gone. A/C? Gone. (along with Middle East sales.) Audio system? What do you think?
And then they got creative. The lightweight front seats come from the SRT Viper, but that’s nothing; huge chunks of the body have been removed and the hood is a carbonfibre one-off replica of the 10th Anniversary Rubicon car. Roll cage switches from steel to chrome moly, and the entire suspension is now made entirely of aluminium, as is the fuel tank.
With this radical diet, you almost don’t need to lift it; the lack of weight adds height naturally. So the extra hardware is relatively simple; Mopar cold air intake, Mopar exhaust, 35-inch tyres on (what else) feather light 17s and some custom DynaTrac Pro Rock 44 axles with King shocks.
Flattop
Again, not a reference to a Dick Tracy villain. Flattop is my favourite of the bunch, and essentially describes what happens when the designers at Jeep decide to have their pie and eat it too – and as you would expect, it’s soo good.
Flattop sports a completely custom body, mounted on the most extreme offroad hardware available in the aftemarket. When I say custom, I mean it; the entire body is one piece, including the hardtop. It’s a super chopped, losing 2 inches from the header of the windshield and no B-pillar at all so if you wanted, you could climb through the half doors. If you’re very thin, that is.
Jeep calls this colour ‘metallic sandstone with copper and brown accents’; I call it ‘showstopping’. Everything is colour co-ordinated, from tow hooks to grille slats and side rails. Bumpers come from the new Rubicon, the fender flares are custom made and all exterior lighting is LED based. Underneath, there’s the expected Mopar exhaust and intake, 37-inch Mickey Thompson tires, DynaTrac Pro 44 front axles and Dana 60 rears with ARB air lockers and TeraFlex sway bays, all mounted to King shocks.
Driving Impressions
