Jeep Trailcat
Everyone, please welcome the 707-hp Jeep
Wrangler you didn’t know you were waiting for yet secretly hoped Chrysler would
someday build.
The Jeep Trailcat, created for Jeep’s
50th annual Easter Safari fan fest in Moab, Utah, has between its frame rails
the very same supercharged V-8 Hellcat engine that has been decimating Dodge
Challenger and Charger tires since 2014. This is the best worst idea ever!
You can figure out where the Trailcat
name came from, so we’ll skip that explanation and get right down to the
important issue here: This Wrangler has a Hellcat engine, and it’s bolted to a
six-speed manual transmission (!). That’s the only data point that matters.
Jeep says it lengthened the Trailcat’s wheelbase by 12 inches over that of a
regular Wrangler to help the engine fit, or maybe to try to imbue this monster
with some dynamic civility. But really, why even try?
Colossal 39.5-inch BFGoodrich Krawler
T/A tires, Fox shocks, and a two-inch lift perch the Jeep even farther above
the pavement, and there are precisely zero aerodynamic elements added to the
body to help this misshapen Titan missile tumble through the air. Since we
imagine any high-speed run in the Trailcat would feel like riding a
Hellcat-powered knuckleball, it’s probably a good thing Jeep sourced
well-bolstered bucket seats from the Dodge Viper to hold occupants in
terror-filled situ.
A custom shift knob with the Hellcat
logo on it, Dana 60 axles front and rear, a two-inch-lower windshield, a domed
and vented hood, tubular half-doors, LED headlights, and rock rails round out
the Trailcat’s list of modifications.
Jeep modestly claims the Trailcat is
“equally at home on Moab’s rugged trails or a high-speed section.” We’d say the
Hellwrangler is also at home on any common health-hazard list, and yet, we
desperately want to drive the thing. It doesn’t matter to us that donning a
meat suit and locking ourselves in a tiger cage seems like a safer alternative.
The Trailcat is Jeep’s challenge to every car nut’s sense of invincibility and
skill. We’re in.
The vehicle might seem unhinged, but you
could almost call the Trailcat’s gestation predictable. Ever since the Hellcat
engine debuted two years ago, we’ve jokingly prodded Fiat Chrysler reps and
engineers to “Hellcat all of the things,” to stuff that beastly engine into
everything from a Fiat 500 to a Ram pickup.