Mopar Underground unveils concept Jeeps at Moab safari

Every year, the off-road faithful gather for the annual Jeep Safari. This year's was held in the Moab Desert, held out of the limelight while all eyes – including Chrysler's and our own – were focused on the New York Auto Show. So while Jeep itself was unveiling the new Grand Cherokee, Chrysler's skunkworks division, Mopar Unlimited – the same crew responsible for most of the company's SEMA show cars – brought out a pair of concept trucks for its most hard-core enthusiasts. The first, called the Grand Canyon II, is based on the outgoing Grand Cherokee Overland, upgraded with some extra luxurious touches. Little information is available on that concept truck, but the real excitement factor was in the Jeep Lower Forty concept (above). Based on the Wrangler, the truck is immediately characterized by its oversized tires, which required a fair bit of hack-sawing of the bodywork by the Mopar crew but no suspension mods, leaving the center of gravity in tack while increasing the ground clearance. Under the hood lies a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with six-speed manual transmission, capped by a custom carbon-fiber hood and a windscreen cut down by 3 inches and raked back 10 degrees. The concept was painted a special shade of red called Red Eye No. 3.