Speciale Jeep aktiemodellen voor Easter Jeep Safari in Moab Utah

Jeep doet het goed! Het off road merk van Chrysler wist zijn verkopen in 2010 ten opzichte van 2009 met 24% te laten groeien. In 2011 moet hard aan verdere groei gewerkt worden. Deze 70-jarige jubileum modellen voor de Easter Jeep Safari in Moab Utah moeten daarbij helpen.

Jeep has a big year ahead of it. After finishing 2010 with a 24-percent increase in global sales versus 2009, Chrysler's off-road capable brand is looking for even more in 2011. To make Jeep even more motivated, the brand is also celebrating its 70th anniversary later this year, and it unveiled an entire lineup of new Special Edition models at the Detroit Auto Show back in January.

Jeep also plans to show six new Mopar-tuned models at the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, from April 16 - 24, and we have the full monty from every model. There's a 'pork chop' that went on an 850-pound diet, a 6.4-liter Hemi V8-packing Rambler, a diesel-packing Cherokee Overland and more.

We've got detailed descriptions along with full image galleries of each Mopar-tuned Jeep after the break for your viewing pleasure. So what are you waiting for?

Chrysler says the Jeep Compass Canyon may be the first Compass ever to take on Moab. The Mopar team started with a stock Compass with the Freedom Drive II drivetrain, then added performance upgrades to boost this soft-roader's off-road chops.

Rocky Road Suspension provided a 2 1/8-inch lift kit, 16-inch wheels were added from a stock Jeep Liberty, and larger Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ 225 tires were added to take on all that extra mud. Front and rear sway bars were removed, and a cold-air induction kit and cat-back exhaust were added. The under-body features front and rear skid bars, sill guards and longitudinal skid plats.

Mopar took a Jeep Liberty from the overseas fleet to create the Jeep Cherokee Overland. The Liberty is actually known as the Cherokee overseas, so the name change isn't so dramatic to our friends across the pond. The Overland packs a 2.8-liter four cylinder CRD turbo diesel mill and the Selec-Trac II 4X4 system. The black zebra stripe theme (which is of questionable taste...) is supposed to give this Liberty more of a safari feel.

The Mopar team tells us that the Overland was largely taken over by ARB, which provided the steel roof rack, awning, rock rails, compact refrigerator and three-inch suspension lift. Old Man Emu shocks and Mickey Thompson 265/75 MTZ tires mated to some bitchin' white steel wheels provide more off-road capability. Also added were skid plates, rear tow hooks, sill guards and a pedal kit.

Among the lineup of modified Jeeps was the off-road-ready version of the 2011 Grand Cherokee we first saw last fall at SEMA. The Mopar-modded Grand Cherokee began life as a run-of-the-mill Laredo with a five-speed automatic transmission and a 5.7-liter Hemi V8, but the Mopar team added steel springs, skid plates, rock rails, a two-inch lift kit and 32-inch all-season tires.

Last week we heard about a special Jeep Wrangler packing a 475-horsepower 6.4-liter V8, and now we have proof of its existence. Jeep and Mopar teamed up to build the Renegade, which borrows its name from the V8-powered Jeeps of the 1970s. This mega-Wrangler also packs a six-speed manual transmission, making it the Wrangler we'd like to drive beyond any other.

Since this Wrangler is going to hang out in Moab, it's also going to need some extra hardware, and Mopar responds with a ProRock 44 front axle and 60 rear axle equipped with air lockers and 4.10 gears. A four-inch suspension lift was also added to make room for 35-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Claw Radials mated to AEV Pintler wheels. Also added were a heat-dissipating hood and a winch-mount front bumper.

When you heavily modify a Wrangler, its weight can quickly jump to beyond 5,500 pounds, so Mopar wanted to show a lightweight model that really takes off the pounds. The vehicle is called the Pork Chop because all the fat has been trimmed.

It started off as a 4,240-pound Wrangler and then lost 850 pounds by losing the bumpers, doors and tailgate. The hood was swapped with a lightweight aluminum and carbon fiber unit that weighs all of eight pounds, while all four fenders were swapped with lightweight replacements. Mopar even ripped out all the carpeting, replaced the gas tank with a lighter unit and swapped out the factory seats for Sparco Chrono Road bucket seats.

But just because the Pork Chop was lightened, that doesn't mean off-road capability was diminished. On the contrary, Mopar added a custom roll cage, an aluminum cold air intake and long-tube headers leading to a dual-exhaust with integrated H-pipe. A Bilstein two-inch shock setup and TeraFlex air bumps upgrade the suspension, while 35-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Claw Radials and 17X8 E-T Vintage V wheels were added to increase grip.

Further weight savings bits also help improve performance, including Dynatrac ProRock 44 front and rear axles with 4.88 gears, ARB air lockers and aluminum differential covers.

Jeep Wrangler Blue Crush
The last Jeep modification may be the most extreme of the bunch. The Blue Crush features Mopar Blue paint, and it gets far more crazy from there. Mopar wanted a powertrain that could handle both rock crawling and off-road racing capability, so an all-aluminum 426-cubic-inch Hemi V8 capable of 540 horsepower was mated to a 545RFE performance transmission.

The high-performance suspension system is fitted with internal bypass shocks, front stabilizer bar and full hydro steering, while monster truck-like 39-inch tires rely on custom drifeshafts for movement. Also added is a full cage with racing seats and a fuel cell. Crazy, and we love it.