New 2018 Jeep Wrangler Spy Shots Show…The Same Old Jeep Wrangler

America's most capable box abides.
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The new 2018 Jeep Wrangler is coming, and Jeepsters are worried.

Few models—save maybe the Mercedes Gelandewagen—have soldiered on with the dedication to form shown by the Jeep Wrangler. Descended from the Willys Jeep, with similar wide-eyed headlights, seven-slat grille, and removable doors, the Wrangler is dead simple and beloved for it. It’s a tradition in high school across America that, come spring, juniors and seniors lucky enough to roll in Wranglers begin to shed parts, cruising around without doors, roofs, and even windshields. The Jeep Wrangler is the the little truck that will deliver you to the beach similarly unclothed.

So whenever a new generation is on the horizon, automotive nudists get nervous. Will it maintain that classic silhouette? Will it keep those ridiculous approach and departure angles? Will the canvas roof still flap in the wind like a loose sail? While these just-surfaced spy photos of the 2018 Jeep Wrangler don’t offer definitive answers, it looks like the tradition will continue. The shape is the same block of softened butter. A protuberant front bumper, more steeply raked windshield, and shapelier wheel arches are concessions to aerodynamics, while the whole stance appears wider. Beneath the vinyl cladding, the new Wrangler is likely to make use of partial aluminum construction that, in concert with gas and diesel V6 options and an 8-speed transmission, should raise the current car’s mediocre 17/21 EPA rating.

The new Wrangler will be built at Jeep’s Toledo, Ohio plant alongside the old model (for a spell, anyway). So, even if we’re completely wrong and the new Wrangler is little more than a rebadged Cherokee, proboscis intact, fans will have a good few years to stock up on these JK-generation classics. Happy trails.

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Brian Williams
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Brian Williams
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Brian Williams
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Brian Williams