► Latest Wrangler pick-up spy shots
► Expected to arrive in 2019
► Range of engines, including a diesel
If the likes of the Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi L200 don’t float your boat, then you may be in luck – because Jeep is working on a pick-up version of its fabled Wrangler.
Our spy photographers caught the new Wrangler-based pick-up being tested both on and off the road, in a heavily camouflaged form. This prototype is a four-door, double-cab version, with a sizeable bed on the back, although other versions may well be in the works.
Codenamed JT, we hear the Jeep pick-up has been pushed back to 2019. It’s slated to be built in the Toledo factory in Ohio and feature downsized 2.0-litre turbocharged engines, as well as a 3.6 V6 and a turbodiesel for export markets such as the EU.
![Jeep JT pick-up: spy photos by CAR magazine](https://car-images.bauersecure.com/wp-images/1478/480x0/jeep-pickup-2.jpg?scale=down)
The concept of a Jeep pick-up isn’t a new one. The company has several in its back catalogue, including the Gladiator of the ’60s and the Cherokee-based Comanche – which was launched in 1985 and ran until 1992. When the Comanche production finally lines shut down, the era of the Jeep pick-up ended.
Why did Jeep stop making pick-ups?
They were never hugely popular and Dodge – another of parent company Chrysler’s brands – was enjoying great success with its range of pick-ups.
Because Chrysler was, at the time, trying to coordinate its efforts a little better, the decision was made to have Dodge retain and focus on pick-ups – while Jeep would stick to SUVs.
![2019 Jeep Wrangler pick-up spy shots](https://car-images.bauersecure.com/wp-images/1478/480x0/jeep-pickup-4.jpg?scale=down)
So why launch the Jeep JT now?
Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is likely keen to cash in on the current success of the booming ‘compact’ pick-up market in the US, hence the sudden appearance of the Jeep Wrangler pick-up.
Jeep clearly likes the idea itself, mind, as it’s been touting various pick-up concepts since 2005 – and it has the history, market appeal and the know-how to field stout contender in the sector.
Tell me more about the new one
The Jeep JT pick-up will be based on the upcoming 2018 ‘JL’ Wrangler, which is due to arrive this autumn. Sources suggest that the entire line-up will feature new underpinnings, with some aluminium in its construction to trim weight. We hear there may also be a hybrid version in the works.
Production will take place at Chryler’s Toledo Complex, in Toledo, Ohio. There’s no word on pricing or if a right-hand-drive version will be offered, yet, but expect more news closer to the next-gen Wrangler’s launch in 2017/18.
Read CAR magazine’s Jeep reviews here
![2018 Jeep Wrangler pick-up spy shots](https://car-images.bauersecure.com/wp-images/1478/480x0/pickupspies-002.jpg?scale=down)