Photo: Jalopnik
I haven’t been this excited about a concept car in a long time. Scratch that. I can’t even remember the last time I was excited about a concept car. When I saw Jeep’s new Forward Control concept yesterday, however, my jaw nearly hit the floor. In an era of soul-crushing sameness and dull efficiency, Jeep’s Forward Control is a refreshing shot of “hell yeah!” steeped in just the right amount of company history.
Photo: Autoblog
The original Jeep Forward Control, a work-truck platform produced between 1956 and 1965, may have been versatile but it looked like cross between a brick and an English Bulldog. The new Forward Control concept looks taught, purposeful, and as tough as barrel of nails. Jeep is calling it the Mighty FC, a name that tastes slightly of marketing department and old comic books. On a truck this cool though, I’m letting that slide.
Photo: Autoblog
This wonder of the automotive world is based on a modified 2012 Wrangler Rubicon chassis featuring 40-inch tires, a coil-over suspension, ARB locking front and rear differentials, and 8-lug portal axles for extra ground clearance. The eight-foot, tray-style bed can be accessed via three drop-down sides, an arrangement reminiscent of the early VW Transporter. The tailgate houses the enormous spare tire.
Photo: Autoblog
Will Jeep build this amazing truck? I sure hope so. It’s the coolest thing I’ve seen come out of Detroit in years — scratch that — in decades.
Oh yeah, Jeep also introduced five other concepts yesterday but, for me, this is the one to watch.
Hat tip to my friend Mas! Thanks!
Here’s an image gallery…
Update: Expedition Portal have taken this truck for a first drive.
Wow, that’s crazy!
[…] Scott Brady, the publisher of Overland Journal and Expedition Portal, took a first drive in the Jeep Forward Control — the Mighty FC, as it’s known — that I raved about the other day. […]
[…] episode of Motor Trend’s YouTube show, The Downshift, trains its lenses on Jeep’s fantastic new Mighty FC concept as it cruises Moab. In the piece, Mark Allen, Jeep’s head of design, describes the thinking […]
[…] Mighty FC Crew Cab April 19, 2012 // 0 I’ve been posting a lot lately about Jeep’s Mighty FC concept. If, like me, you thought that truck couldn’t get any cooler, check out the crew cab version I […]
[…] control” 4x4s here in the US (one’s in which the cab sits over the front wheels). Jeep’s Mighty FC concept has injected new life and style into a vehicle type that traces its short lineage back to […]
I think that after looking through the latest jeeps this one far out weighs those and I can’t wait to get my hands on one.