The annual Easter Jeep Safari wouldn’t be complete if the designers and engineers didn’t pay homage to at least one Jeep off-road vehicle from the brand’s history. We’ve seen tasty variants of the old Wagoneer and Forward Control pickup in the past. This year, they’ve selected to throwback to the second-generation Jeepster.

In case you’ve forgotten, the original Jeepster was built as an add-on to the Jeep portfolio of civilian machines. Compared to the rudimentary CJ, it had amenities like a heater and – well – doors. Will wonders never cease? Jeep called it the first compact four-wheel-drive vehicle with an automatic transmission.

The concept you see on these digital pages began life as a 1968 Jeepster Commando (Jeep nerds will call it the C-101). Its powertrain was binned in favour of modern tech — namely the 2.0L turbocharged inline-four that’s available in certain trims of the Wrangler. Officially, it is rated at a stock 270 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque but, in a conversation with Jeep engineers, Driving learned the old SRT team breathed on the engine and found an extra 25 per cent more power. That’d peg output somewhere near 340 ponies. Owners of this mill should pay attention and harass their Jeep dealer for access to this tune.

Read Full Story At driving.ca >>