In a move that didn't exactly come as a surprise, Dodge retired the Grand Caravan last year. And, after a career spanning almost four decades, one might be tempted to mourn the loss of a nameplate that had earned itself an important place in the history of American motoring. Nevertheless, with multiple factors working against the vehicle (more on this below), a better idea would be to pay homage to the Dodge Caravan. This is precisely what Chip Foose recently did.
Given the fact that we're talking about a hot rodding and customization legend, it was only natural for the designer to take the soccer run minivan down the cool route.
Out went the top, along with most of the vehicle's upper structure - even the windshield was chopped, but there's no need to fret, as a roll bar was added, serving both a functional and an aesthetic role.
Zooming in the lower side of the vehicle, we find a seriously boosted ride height, with custom wheels shod in off-road-friendly rubber ensuring this thing can easily leave the asphalt behind. As Foose puts it, a ride height transformation was the obvious path.
Easy access? No problem, that's what the side steps are here for!
The lift is explained by the penning master by the fact that his virtual Caravan does away with the FWD underpinnings that helped with the packaging of the family-friendly machine. As such, the body of the 1980s Caravan now sits on a Jeep chassis. And while we're talking rugged terrain adventures, the push bar and the winch adorning the front end also need to be mentioned.
These days, minivans have lost their appeal, not just because they had been associated with mundane tasks over the years but also due to the apparently unstoppable SUV craze we've experienced over the past two decades or so.
Besides, the recent years have seen Dodge moving away from a complete lineup, focusing on muscle offerings ahead of the upcoming electric revolution, so there was no place left for such a model in its range.
Nevertheless, when the Dodge Caravan and its Plymouth Voyager sibling debuted back in 1984 thanks to the visionary that was Lee Iacocca, they pioneered a new trend in the industry and helped parent company Chrysler deal with the financial troubles it was experiencing at the time.
For decades, the company capitalized on the minivan segment's success, with the Dodge Caravan and the elongated version that outlived it, the Grand Caravan, being among the dominant badges on the market.
And, given all the years of success for the badge, we might see an eccentric shop out there bring such a pumped-up Caravan to life one of these days.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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