Jeep fans and the automotive community at large have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a rugged, off-road-capable pickup truck based on the Jeep Wrangler.
Prototypes for just such a vehicle have been spotted for some time now, and Jeep has confirmed that a pickup wearing the famous seven-slot grille will debut at the 2018 Los Angeles auto show taking place at the end of this month.
Word on the street was that the vehicle would be called a Scrambler, but new evidence suggests that it will be called a Gladiator instead.
According to a post on the Jeep Scrambler Forum, the Gladiator name briefly appeared on a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles website. Appearing alongside the name were Sport, Overland and Rubicon trims, along with corresponding model codes for each.
2005 Jeep Gladiator concept
Gladiator is a name that has appeared on a Jeep pickup in the past, originally on a full-size truck launched in the 1960s and based on the Jeep Wagoneer. The name later reappeared on a Wrangler pickup concept that debuted in 2005 (shown above), though there was never an indication at the time that a production version of the concept was coming.
Whatever Jeep ends up calling its latest pickup, the vehicle should come with a crew cab layout and hard-top roof as standard. An available soft-top would make for a unique looking vehicle out on the road, though.
With the pending arrival of the truck, we're also waiting to hear about the much discussed diesel engine option. A 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 is supposed to arrive any day now. That engine will also be available for the Wrangler, slotting between the currently available 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 with its mild-hybrid parts and the 3.6-liter V-6 that you'll find under the hood of most new Wranglers.
The L.A. auto starts November 28 so we should have all the information soon. Following the debut in L.A., the Jeep pickup is expected in showrooms in April as a 2020 model.
