Photo: Jeep
When Willys-Overland introduced the Jeep Wagoneer in 1962, the model predated what we refer today as an SUV. It was a different animal from the wagon-inspired 1948 Willys Jeep Station Wagon. After a 29-year production run, the Wagoneer twins are due to be resurrected in the latter half of 2018 for the 2019 MY.
The first time we’ve heard that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles-owned Jeep plans to make an all-new Grand Wagoneer was in 2011, when FCA’s head honcho told the media that the new model is due in 2013. It was not to be, though, but all is not lost. Since 2011, Marchionne and Jeep’s CEO reiterated that the Wagoner and Grand Wagoneer would roll into U.S. dealers, eventually.
Up to this point in time, we know that the 2019 Jeep Wagoneer and the Grand Wagoneer won’t come in the form of luxury trim levels of the next-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee. Even though it will share its platform with the GC, the GW will be a divergent breed. Expected to make heavy use of aluminum for the chassis and body, the 2019 Jeep Wagoneer family is likely to be underpinned by an all-new platform co-developed with Alfa Romeo. It isn’t a far stretch to believe this hearsay, chiefly because Marchionne let it slip that the Giorgio platform “may spill over in some forms as far as a Jeep [model].”
In comparison to the mid-size Grand Cherokee, the Grand Wagoneer will be a full-size SUV with seating for up to 7 passengers. Aimed to take on the likes of the Range Rover, it’s a sure bet that Jeep will pay close attention to the quality of the materials it will use inside the Grand Wagoneer. Marketing will also be that little bit more special than what Jeep will employ in the case of the Grand Cherokee. After all, Mike Manley let it slip that the GW could be pushed “up to $130,000 or $140,000” when fully loaded. To put that price into perspective, a 2017 Range Rover V8 Autobiography LWB is $145,995.
Anticipated to pride itself on the off-road capability that made the Jeep brand what it is today, the 2019 Wagoneer and 2019 Grand Wagoneer are rumored to borrow six- and eight-cylinder powerplants used in today’s Maseratis. That’ll be a 3.0-liter twin-turbo gasoline engine, a 3.0-liter twin-turbo diesel, and a range-topping 3.8-liter twin-turbo gasoline engine. This change from American muscle to Italian know-how is partially explained by the ever-stringent CAFE standards, as well as Marchionne’s aggressive push for a sharing strategy between FCA brands to cut down on R&D costs.
As a unibody sport utility vehicle with aluminum in its construction and an Italian heart, the 2019 Wagoneer and 2019 Grand Wagoneer will be as different as chalk and cheese from their forebear. When you think about it, however, this is the right recipe for Jeep if the brand wants to go forward.
Considering our ever-growing appetite for high-riding vehicles and luxury, it’s also what the world wants from Jeep. Slated to be built at the Warren Truck Assembly in Detroit, production for the Ram 1500 will be moved to Sterling Heights Assembly for the 2018 model year to make room for the 2019 Jeep Wagoneer and its more luxurious brother, the 2019 Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
Up to this point in time, we know that the 2019 Jeep Wagoneer and the Grand Wagoneer won’t come in the form of luxury trim levels of the next-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee. Even though it will share its platform with the GC, the GW will be a divergent breed. Expected to make heavy use of aluminum for the chassis and body, the 2019 Jeep Wagoneer family is likely to be underpinned by an all-new platform co-developed with Alfa Romeo. It isn’t a far stretch to believe this hearsay, chiefly because Marchionne let it slip that the Giorgio platform “may spill over in some forms as far as a Jeep [model].”
In comparison to the mid-size Grand Cherokee, the Grand Wagoneer will be a full-size SUV with seating for up to 7 passengers. Aimed to take on the likes of the Range Rover, it’s a sure bet that Jeep will pay close attention to the quality of the materials it will use inside the Grand Wagoneer. Marketing will also be that little bit more special than what Jeep will employ in the case of the Grand Cherokee. After all, Mike Manley let it slip that the GW could be pushed “up to $130,000 or $140,000” when fully loaded. To put that price into perspective, a 2017 Range Rover V8 Autobiography LWB is $145,995.
Anticipated to pride itself on the off-road capability that made the Jeep brand what it is today, the 2019 Wagoneer and 2019 Grand Wagoneer are rumored to borrow six- and eight-cylinder powerplants used in today’s Maseratis. That’ll be a 3.0-liter twin-turbo gasoline engine, a 3.0-liter twin-turbo diesel, and a range-topping 3.8-liter twin-turbo gasoline engine. This change from American muscle to Italian know-how is partially explained by the ever-stringent CAFE standards, as well as Marchionne’s aggressive push for a sharing strategy between FCA brands to cut down on R&D costs.
As a unibody sport utility vehicle with aluminum in its construction and an Italian heart, the 2019 Wagoneer and 2019 Grand Wagoneer will be as different as chalk and cheese from their forebear. When you think about it, however, this is the right recipe for Jeep if the brand wants to go forward.
Considering our ever-growing appetite for high-riding vehicles and luxury, it’s also what the world wants from Jeep. Slated to be built at the Warren Truck Assembly in Detroit, production for the Ram 1500 will be moved to Sterling Heights Assembly for the 2018 model year to make room for the 2019 Jeep Wagoneer and its more luxurious brother, the 2019 Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
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