This Is the HEMI V8-Powered Jeep Scrambler the World Never Got in Production Form. Sort Of

Also known as the CJ-8, this Jeep variety arrived on the scene in 1981 and was only in production for seven years. It wasn’t such a big hit on the market, with just under 30,000 of them being sold during all seven years.

It probably had nothing to do with the truck’s poor performance, but I like to think the absence of a V8 engine from the CJ-8 lineup back then was somewhat of a factor. And if you happen to feel the same way, and wished the Scrambler had a proper American engine in its bay, here’s retribution.

This weekend the 2023 Easter Jeep Safari kicks off in Moab, Utah, and, as it’s done for years, the carmaker will be bringing to the orange desert floor no less than seven concepts. Among them is a V8-powered Scrambler.

Well, ok, you’re right, it’s not an actual Scrambler from decades ago, taken out of storage and somehow remade into an impressive off-roader. It’s a four-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on the 392 variety, modified by Jeep to be reminiscent of the original. But it’s so cool we’ll take it as the V8-powered Scrambler that was never made anyway.

At the core of the concept is of course the HEMI engine we know and love, capable of developing 470 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque from 6.4 liters of displacement. So proud is Jeep of this unit that it even left it semi-exposed, with a tinted clear insert in the middle of the carbon-fiber hood allowing a limited view of the powerplant.

Visually, the SUV is no longer the Rubicon we know, with the rear pair of doors removed from the equation to make it look apart. Painted in Sublime green, it rides on 20-inch wheels finished in Brass Monkey paint, just like the tow hooks, as a sort of nod to the Wrangler Rubicon 392 that served as a base.

The wheels are wearing 40-inch tires, and they’re backed by an AccuAir air suspension kit, the same one gets on the production version of Wrangler and Gladiator. This thing allows a lift ranging between 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) and 5.5 inches (14 cm), which can be commanded either by an in-cab controller or via Bluetooth.

Jeep does not reveal all that much about the Scrambler’s interior, other than providing us with a single photo of the front seats, wrapped in blue plaid inserts and green stitching.

The Jeep Scrambler 392 is one of seven concepts that have been designed for the Easter Jeep Safari. Stay tuned throughout the day as we burn through the rest of them.