Jeep's Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept Is a 470-HP Hemi Desert Pickup With IFS
Jeep's SEMA concept gives the Wrangler its first independent front suspension, a 470-hp Hemi V8, and rear seats that flip to face the bed.
Stellantis's SRT division brought a Jeep Wrangler pickup to SEMA that does something no production Wrangler has done: it trades the solid front axle for independent front suspension. The Wrangler Scrambler SRT Concept, unveiled Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, is a two-door, CJ-8-inspired truck built for flat-out desert running rather than rock crawling, the job that has kept the Wrangler a step behind the Bronco Raptor in our Jeep Wrangler vs. Ford Bronco comparison.
The press release mentions only "V8 power," and early coverage treated the engine as a mystery. Jeep's specification sheet settles it: a 6.4-liter SRT Hemi V8 rated at 470 hp and 470 lb-ft. That matches the 392 V8 Jeep still offers in the 2027 Wrangler lineup.
What SRT changed
Jeep started with a Wrangler chassis and rebuilt everything behind the A-pillars. The concept gets longer doors, new rear bodywork with an integrated bed and spray-on liner, a redesigned tailgate, wider flares, and a structural roll cage. The frame is stretched about 10 inches at the rear, and the truck is 86 inches wide. Up front is a sharknose grille in the Gladiator's style, finished in Punk'n orange with bronze beadlock wheels.
The hardware is what sets it apart. The independent front end comes from Currie Industries and offers 14 inches of wheel travel. Out back, a trophy-truck-style straight axle provides 15 inches. Every corner gets 2.5-inch shocks, the wheels use a six-lug pattern, and the tires are 37x12.5R17 BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3s on 17-inch beadlocks. Off-road racer Casey Currie helped develop the setup. It builds on the suspension Jeep first showed on its Striker Concept, which Currie raced in a Gladiator to a class win at the NORRA 500.
The bed has a trick the Gladiator doesn't. The rear seats clip into hooks in the floor, so they can come out entirely or turn 180 degrees to face backward, which Jeep claims no rival offers. With the seats in place, the bed floor is 40 inches long; with them out, it grows to 71 inches. It measures up to 59 inches wide and 23 inches deep, for 55.75 cubic feet of space.
Inside are Dark Graphite leather seats with orange inserts, bronze trim, and SRT embroidery.
How it stacks up
The obvious target is Ford's Bronco Raptor, which already pairs independent front suspension with 37-inch tires. According to The Drive, the Raptor offers 13 inches of travel up front and 14.1 inches at the rear. Its twin-turbo V6 makes 418 hp. On paper, the Scrambler concept beats it on travel at both ends and by 52 hp. The difference is that the Raptor is on sale. Jeep's production answer so far is more modest: the Gladiator only recently got 35-inch tires from the factory.
Tim Kuniskis, who runs Stellantis's American brands and SRT, framed the build around the original: "The original Scrambler became an icon because it broke the rules."
What we don't know
Jeep calls this a concept and hasn't announced production plans, pricing, or timing. In May, The Drive reported that Kuniskis showed a 3D-printed styling buck of a two-door Scrambler pickup at a Stellantis investor presentation. The outlet said the truck could arrive by 2030 if the company's plan holds. Jeep hasn't said whether this SEMA build previews that vehicle.
For the rest of the show floor, see our SEMA 2026 preview.
