Beefy Jeep Wrangler 41 throws back to 1941
Land Rover Defender, Mercedes G-Class, Ineos Genadier… All are Johnny-come-latelys to the world of off-road 4x4s. The daddy of all of them is the Jeep, born in 1941 when the US decided a light military 4x4 would be a useful thing with which to fight a war.
Jeeps are all things to all people these days, but there is at least a little of the original DNA of that first Willys-Overland model in today’s Wrangler, the toughest and most formidably go-anywhere of the current line-up.
And the most capable version of all the Wranglers is the Jeep Wrangler 1941, a UK-only special-edition version of the latest model, dreamed up – you guessed – to mark the old stager’s 80th birthday. Anniversaries are flavour of the month with car companies right now as marketing teams seize every opportunity to come up with special editions. It doesn’t necessarily make them a bad idea.
Any Wrangler is extremely capable and the 1941 edition is the most capable ever offered for sale in the UK, says Jeep. A factory-fit 2-inch lift kit, splash guards, extended guards and more underbody protection are the added items from the Mopar parts bin that should go down well with the true off-road aficionado.
If it’s just the tough looks you want then they have been given a boost too with black sill guards, black fuel filler flap and all-weather mats. Okay, so not much of a boost. But with its Tonka toy looks and configurable open-top four-door body, any Wrangler does look the part already. And to get the heritage message across, there’s a logo on the bonnet – nope, not a big white star but a giant “1941” emblazoned across it. It probably wouldn’t have been General Patton’s choice…
There are to be 41 of them only, all based on the top Rubicon model, powered by a 2.2-litre Multijet diesel engine and available in Brilliant black, Granite Crystal, Firecracker red or Billet silver, priced from £58,050.
Jeep
Wrangler
