Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392: in all absurdity

What happens when you add the V8 from a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack to a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon? The answer to this joke no doubt thrown a few times when lifting the hood of the legendary adventurer now has a name: the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392. As you might expect, there is nothing serious in this misuse of delicious nonsense.

It is also when firing its breathing 6.4 L V8 through a huge hood scoop that we see it. If you find yourself surrounded by buildings that serve as a sounding board, the fat sound worthy of a muscle car of the 1960s amplifies and quickly floods the passenger compartment. The hilarity of the moment will follow us throughout the test drive due to the Wrangler’s rudimentary soundproofing. Fortunately, to preserve our eardrums, this exhaust can – almost – be silent on command.

Not just an engine transplant

It is therefore to an experience guided by this greedy 470 hp mechanism that this Frankenstein truck invites us. But, beyond its brute force, which we like to exploit from a standing start by simultaneously pressing the brake and accelerator pedals to awaken it, it is also the modifications made to the chassis that improve its handling.

That doesn’t turn it into a Ford Bronco, though, due to the presence of a stiff front axle and hydraulic steering that at times suggests a lot more than it steers, but its stiffened platform greatly improves overall handling. and heading. It is necessary with the tenfold velocity whose traction is framed by a permanent four-wheel drive system, for safety. The monotube Fox shock absorbers try in parallel, as best they can, to keep this Wrangler on its four wheels, but the movements of the body remain excessive because of the significant clearance of the suspension elements. The summary grip on the asphalt of the gigantic boots with large studs 315 mm wide also forces us to lift the foot at the slightest turn presenting itself much more quickly than with a standard Wrangler.

An unpretentious exercise, over the top in every sense of the word and hilariously entertaining. It undeniably targets a very specific clientele while offering a last benefit to this mechanism destined to disappear to make way for in-line six-cylinders.