Here at The Drive, we usually think of the days surrounding Easter as the time when the automotive world comes to us for the New York International Auto Show, which always goes down the week before the holiday. But as much as we’d like to think that were so, the car world is far, far bigger than us. Case in point: Easter week also happens to be when Jeep fanatics gather together in Moab, Utah, for the annual Easter Jeep Safari.
The annual event may have began as a Moab Chamber of Commerce ploy to attract off-road enthusiasts to rally together on the area’s trails, but in the five decades since, it’s become a manufacturer-sponsored celebration of all things Jeep. As a result, the SUV-maker usually breaks open its Mopar crate of aftermarket accessories and whips up a host of special one-off concept vehicles for the occasion—and this year is no exception.
Of course, Fiat Chrysler is going to milk these attention-grabbing new models for all they’re worth. (These are the Dodge Demon people, remember?) So ahead of the official reveal of the first off-road one-offs, Jeep has dropped a teaser for the first pair.
And we’re totally falling for it, because these first two concepts—the Quicksand and Switchback—certainly seem worth lusting over.
Jeep Switchback
Let’s take a look at the Jeep Switchback first. Based on our Photoshop-enhanced shot of the concept (posted below), it seems to be a skeletonized, beefed-up version of the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, complete with sweet new doors.
Jeep Quicksand
The Jeep Quicksand, on the other hand, seems to be a chopped hot rod version of an old CJ…the thought of which is causing us to drool all over our keyboards. (We’ve also tweaked that pic in Photoshop to enhance it a bit.)
Expect to find out more about these Jeeps—and the rest of the company’s planned Safari concepts—in the next couple weeks.
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