Jeep Gets Nostalgic With 75th Salute Concept Vehicle

Jeep Wrangler 75th Salute concept (Credit: Jeep)

In case you’ve somehow missed the mountain of marketing collateral from Fiat Chrysler that 2016 is Jeep’s 75th anniversary, here’s one more reminder. The uber-American brand that started out serving in the military and winning World War II is getting a new Wrangler 75th Salute concept vehicle.

As you can expect, the concept hearkens back to a time when Jeeps featured a gas tank under the driver’s seat and handles at each of the four corners of the exterior. Those specific designs aren’t applied to a Wrangler, which would be awesome and far too expensive. Instead, Jeep used a Wrangler Sport, stripping it down to what it calls “function over form.”

Gone is all that foofy crap you’re used to in modern Jeeps. This concept has steel wheels, non-directional tires, steel bumpers and scratchy canvas upholstery so you can remember that driving a Jeep is supposed to be a duty, not a luxury.

To give off a decidedly military vibe, the Jeep Wrangler 75th Salute concept has an olive-drab appearance, no doors and no B-pillars. Other than those design cues, the vehicle is just a modern Wrangler. It uses the same 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6, etc.