It’s been so many years since Jeep let it slip that the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are coming back that the hype is at boiling point. So much hype that a couple of teaser images were recently uploaded on social media with the “coming soon” caption. Don’t, however, get your hopes up because both full-size and body-on-frame SUVs are 2022 models.
Expected to be based on a modified Ram 1500 ladder frame with coil-spring rear suspenion, the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are also expected with air suspension on higher trim levels. Codenamed WS, both of them will be produced at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant following a $2.8 billion investment and a potential workforce increase of 1,500 souls. The FCA-UAW contract from December 2019 has also confirmed a PHEV for the 2021 calendar year, most likely twinned with the 4xe system of the Wrangler.
Like the Grand Cherokee, the full-size siblings are certain to feature the Pentastar V6 with or without eTorque mild-hybrid assistance as the base powerplant. The 5.7- and 6.4-liter versions of the HEMI V8 should be next in the lineup, and at the very top of the spectrum, the Trackhawk begs to happen with the same 707 horsepower as the Hellcat-ified Grand Cherokee.
There’s talk of a 2.0-liter turbo and a straight-six turbo, but don’t get your hopes up for those powerplants in the first model years. The four-cylinder mill, frankly, doesn’t have a place under the hood of such a leviathan. Expected to arrive at U.S. dealerships in the second half of 2021, the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will both feature a tried-and-tested TorqueFlite tranny with eight forward ratios. Fiat Chrysler has also signed a contract with ZF Friedrichshafen for an eight-speed transmission with a built-in electric motor, the tranny that will be introduced by the Wrangler 4xe.
As for the way the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer looks, spy shots of camouflaged prototypes tell half the story. The remaining half is taken by renderings at this point, renderings such as this fellow here by KKS Studio. The pixel artist appears to have used leaked images from a few years ago, but there’s no telling how much Jeep has changed the design since then.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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