Being that this is a Throwback Thursday and a day that MOPAR just released a whole bunch of new concept Jeeps, I thought it would be fun to venture back to a time long ago. A time way before MOPAR was releasing ultra-high end shiny JK's during the Moab Easter Jeep Safari and the Jeep design team known as Skunkwerks (later known as The Underground) used to make concept vehicles that were more modest in scale and attainable to all. Of course, the one I remember the most and with fond memories was the very first JK concept that they brought out to the 2006 SEMA show and it was a gorgeous 2-Door called, the Orange Crush!
At a time when the JK was still hard to come by and with most people waiting for the delivery of theirs, ones they ordered 6 months or more before - the Orange Crush was the epitome of simplicity and with DIY elements that Cindy and I wanted to emulate. Or at least, once we got our hands on our JK. In addition to having a Superlift 4" lift, Hutchinson beadlock wheels, BFGoodrich 37" Krawler Tires, an AEV Heat-Reduction Hood and AEV Rear Corner Guards, this would be the first time that we saw trimmed factory fender flares. Granted, they were nothing quite like we've got on our JK's now but it gave us the idea that it could be done! The other thing that caught our eye was the extreme simplicity of the military style winch mount being used as a bumper. Back then and even now, everyone had the idea that big full width bumpers were all the rage but this gave us the idea of eventually running just a PUREJEEP winch plate and hoop and it later became known as their BareBonez bumper. Anyway, here are a few shots of what it looked like at SEMA 2006.
UPDATE: Went digging through our 2007 Moab EJS archives and found a few more shots of Orange Crush and at dusk to shows it's way cool indicator/parking lights integrated into the headlights. Check it out.
Of course, Mark Allen, the senior designer for Jeep let Cindy and I take it out for a spin too.
And that my friends is my little walk back into time. I hope you enjoyed
At a time when the JK was still hard to come by and with most people waiting for the delivery of theirs, ones they ordered 6 months or more before - the Orange Crush was the epitome of simplicity and with DIY elements that Cindy and I wanted to emulate. Or at least, once we got our hands on our JK. In addition to having a Superlift 4" lift, Hutchinson beadlock wheels, BFGoodrich 37" Krawler Tires, an AEV Heat-Reduction Hood and AEV Rear Corner Guards, this would be the first time that we saw trimmed factory fender flares. Granted, they were nothing quite like we've got on our JK's now but it gave us the idea that it could be done! The other thing that caught our eye was the extreme simplicity of the military style winch mount being used as a bumper. Back then and even now, everyone had the idea that big full width bumpers were all the rage but this gave us the idea of eventually running just a PUREJEEP winch plate and hoop and it later became known as their BareBonez bumper. Anyway, here are a few shots of what it looked like at SEMA 2006.
UPDATE: Went digging through our 2007 Moab EJS archives and found a few more shots of Orange Crush and at dusk to shows it's way cool indicator/parking lights integrated into the headlights. Check it out.
Of course, Mark Allen, the senior designer for Jeep let Cindy and I take it out for a spin too.
And that my friends is my little walk back into time. I hope you enjoyed
