While we had heard a lot about the Jeep Wrangler Overland modified by Chrysler’s in house tuners Mopar, but we couldn’t fully appreciate the go anywhere and then camp anywhere Jeep until seeing it in person at the 2009 SEMA Show. The interior of the Jeep Wrangler Overland features water resistant Mopar front seat covers, rugged Mopar slush mats, a Daystar dash bin and lower switch panel that powers the added accessories. Enhancing the Wrangler’s off road ruggedness is a 3 inch lift from American Expedition Vehicles as well as a full traction rear sway bar. The added clearance allows aggressive 35 inch off road tires to be mounted on the 17 inch steel Mopar wheels. However the real beauty of the Overland is the full size tent that opens on the extended roof panel and an equally spacious shade providing tarp that gives it owners the perfect place to have a picnic while on safari.
Not much has been heard from Jeep in recent months, but that hasn’t stopped the brand from showing up at SEMA to unveil the Jeep Lower Forty concept. The off-road vehicle, which is based on the Jeep Wrangler, was fine-tuned by Mopar Underground and is powered by a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine with a Getrag six-speed manual transmission that uses a Dana 44 axle in the front and a Dana 60 axle out back with both being fitted with 5.38 gears.
Jeep also took the liberty of adding mammoth 40-inch tires to the Lower Forty concept, which was done by taking away a number sheet metals from the vehicles and increasing the width of the fender by an inch and raising it up four inches higher to make room for the 40-inch tires.
Jeep also included a slew of other features for their Lower Forty concept, including the addition of a carbon fiber hood, a chopped windshield, a custom bikini top, and a new rear tailgate.
Additional features include a carbon fiber hood, custom bikini top, a chopped windshield, and a color-matched interior with Katzkin leather seating. You can read more details after the jump, and we have plenty of high-res photos in the gallery below.
Hummer announced today details on the 2010 H3 and H3T models. And there are some very "environmental-friendly" details. Both models will get E85 capability and new colors for the 2010 model year. The prices on the other hand remain the same as for the 2009 models.
All 2010 Alpha series’ models will be powered by a 5.3L V8 Flex Fuel engine rated at 300 hp and 320 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine is mated to a Hydra-Matic 4L60 electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission. Is not much of a green car, but according to James Taylor, Hummer CEO: "This is just the first step in HUMMER’s evolution to offer responsible, yet highly capable all-terrain vehicles. Future models will be lighter, more efficient and will continue to offer the best blend of off-road capability and on-road performance."
Besides the new engine, the 2010 models will be offered with three new premium colors: Red Rock Metallic, Silver Stone Metallic, and Canyon Metallic.
Don’t you just love it when your car can do something other cars can only dream about doing, like, say, drive underwater?
This particular modified Hummer put its ‘swimming’ skills to the test as it drove head on into a river, completely submerging itself in the process. At one point, you can’t even see the Hummer, except for the exhaust sticking out like a snorkeling tube.
We’re pretty sure that his Hummer will come in pretty handy, especially during the wet weather season when floods begin to occur regularly.
Now if only there was a way to have more cars be able to drive effortlessly underwater.
After jumpstarting a billion-dollar enthusiast segment, the Bigfoot truck - one of the most iconic trucks in history - returned to SEMA to celebrate its 35th anniversary.
Adorned in the traditional no. 1 and those gargantuan 66-inch terra tires, Bob Chandler’s Bigfoot Truck returned to the very same auto show it first attended back in 1977. To celebrate the occasion, the original No.1 was joinged by a modern tube-framed Bigfoot truck that was dressed in a commemorative no. 1 body.
As you probably know by now, Monster Trucks became a cultural icon over the years, having appeared in a number of movies, spawning it’s very own competition, and has also made 25,000 appearances in over 20 countries since it was created in 1974.
Looking more like something suited to explore Mars, the off road prototype builders at Local Motors will be bringing their Rally Fighter to the 2009 SEMA Show. The futuristic off roader is a self proclaimed "premium, authentic off-of-road experience, custom designed and built for the deserts of the American Southwest." The closed cockpit buggy is powered by a BMW sourced 3.0 Liter twin turbocharged clean diesel sis cylinder engine sporting a maximum output of 265 HP and a a very high 425 lb-ft of torque available from a very low 1,750 RPM and is directed to the rear wheels via a 6 speed automatic transmission. Combining a long range diesel power train with a relatively lightweight, 3,200 pounds, makes this custom off road prototype the perfect recreational vehicle with enough room for the kids targeted at residents of America’s more arid region where desert racing is more popular than NASCAR.
The second concept presented at SEMA Show by Hummer is H3T Sportsman concept based on the new H3T Alpha. The concept is powered by a 5.3L V-8 engine that thanks to the addition of new LS2 cylinder heads, a higher-lift camshaft and supporting components adds an extra 70 hp to the standard output, meaning a total of 370 hp.
It rides on 35-inch-tall BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires mounted on HUMMER Accessory 20-inch wheels and adds new HUMMER accessories including grille-mounted and custom low-profile front- and rear-facing roof-rail mounted Delta off-road lamps, a body-color upper grille and a matte finish fuel door.
Hummer will be presented at SEMA Show with two customized concept cars. The first of them is H3 Moab, a concept inspired by trails like Steel Bender, Moab Rim, and Poison Spyder.
Based on the 300-hp V8-powered H3 Alpha, the Moab concept combines a Rancho four-inch front suspension lift and a custom rear spring-over conversion inspired by current HUMMER engineering test vehicles.
the concept is painted in Canyon Metallic and also features a HUMMER Genuine Accessory lower grille mounted lamps and six Delta Xenon roof basket-mounted off-road lamps to provide lighting in all conditions.
When Ford was faced with the option of producing another tire shredding SVT Lightning or something completely different, they opted for plan b; and we are just glad that they brought it down to Miami. Instead of a supercharged work truck that can blow the doors off of most sports cars in a straight line, the SVT group chose to build an off road version of the F-150 that would be competitive in the Baja 1000 right out of the showroom, and actually ended up earning a spot on the podium. What they came up with is the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. The new truck combines extreme off road capabilities with an aggressive on road package that should only get better in 2010 when Ford puts the more powerful 6.2 Liter V8 version on sale at the beginning of next year. and we are eagerly awaiting its arrival.
When the blue oval’s high performance engineers were given the option of either producing another tire shredding SVT Lightning or something completely different, they opted for plan b. Instead of a supercharged work truck that can blow the doors off of most sports cars in a straight line, the SVT group chose to build an off road version of the F-150 that would be competitive in the Baja 1000 right out of the showroom, and actually ended up earning a spot on the podium. Now Texans know a thing or two about pick up trucks, with their starry skies and wide open spaces residents of America’s third coast get plenty out of their pick up trucks. So it was quite an honor when the Texas Auto Writers Association named the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor as their 2009 Truck of Texas. This marks the seventh consecutive time that a Ford F-Series pick up truck has won the award from TAWA.
Ford Motor Company’s president of the Americas, Mark Fields was particularly pleased when he heard the good news. “Winning the Truck of Texas is a distinct honor… Texans know their trucks, and this award is further proof of why the F-Series remains America’s number-one selling pickup. We built F-150 SVT Raptor for truck enthusiasts. And we’re gratified it’s gaining recognition for both its unequaled off-road performance and confidence-inspiring on-road demeanor." The Raptor combines extreme off road capabilities with an aggressive on road package that should only get better in 2010 when Ford puts the more powerful 6.2 Liter V8 version on sale at the beginning of next year.