Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has made it a talking point time and time again that the upcoming JL Wrangler redesign will not change the look of the vehicle.
“It’s a perfect car,” he said earlier this year. “It fixes all the problems of the old car and it keeps the identity of the Wrangler.”
But despite all the praise, FCA has done its best to keep just about everything visual regarding the JL away from public consumption – hoping absence will make buyers' hearts grow fonder.
Things do have a way of getting out though. Things like, perhaps, the new face of FCA’s next generation Wrangler.
A purported front grille for the 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Tuesday surfaced on JL Wrangler Forums, apparently sent to the forum site by a source in the sheetmetal fabricating field.
While there is no way to definitively verify the grille as genuine, the released photos certainly support what we’ve come to know about the JL Wrangler’s front end based on various spy images of the 2018 Wrangler, as well as conversations with those close to certain production elements of the vehicle.
So, what’s in a face?
As the photo above indicates, FCA has left the iconic seven-slot structure intact, but did tweak several other elements. Most obvious are the headlight rings, which now flow into the grille slots similar to an older CJ7-type appearance. Why? Perhaps Jeep wanted a throwback look, or possibly the company felt the LED lighting integrated better this way. The individual grille slots are also wider, and feature an angled ‘kink’ about two-thirds of the way up the grille similar to the YJ Wrangler. This bend is one way FCA is trying to make the Wrangler more aerodynamic versus the current JK face (shown below).
Also important to note, the possible JL grille does not incorporate turn signals on the face – which lends credence to prototype shots we’ve seen of LED turn signal strips on the vehicle’s fenders. Plus, there is no Jeep badging on the grille that could mean either this is a pre-production piece yet to receive its Jeep emblem, or the logo is moving somewhere else on the face or hood.
So, when will we get to actually see the finished product?
FCA’s Marchionne, during the Detroit North American International Auto Show earlier this month, indicated the automaker may not debut the JL Wrangler until the Los Angeles Auto Show this November.
“We may be forced to go to Los Angeles to launch the car,” Marchionne said. “We’ll have them running around. I can’t cover them up with masking tape. The car is too distinctive. We may show it in Los Angeles in November and then launch it officially (at Detroit) in January.”For other rumors, news, and information on the 2018 JL Wrangler, be sure to check back often to our Quadratec Channel.
