Grand Cherokee Overlander
This isn’t the first time Jeep has brought out a Grand Cherokee concept vehicle, or one powered by the company’s 3.0-liter VM Mitori diesel engine, but this is the first time Jeep has played around with the air suspension on the current-generation Grand.

“We’ve done a few different Grand Cherokees of this vintage, but this is the first time I’ve done one with the air spring suspension – we’ve done steel springs always,” Allen said. “So what we started with on this vehicle was taking that air spring strut and making it always a little bit higher, essentially putting a lift to that… It’s a little over an inch lift on this vehicle. We have full function [of the air suspension] of course; you can go up 2 more inches or down an inch, and we’re interested in trying that out here.”

Aside from gaining additional lift, Allen and team opened up the wheel wells slightly to accommodate larger 32-inch BFGoodrich T/A KO tires. Up front, the front fascia was removed and a new one created that is larger so as to accommodate a fully functioning winch and house new integrated auxiliary lights. Additional trail lighting is also found via the LED lightbar mounted just over the front windshield.

Providing the overland feel for the Grand Cherokee Overlander is a fold-out rooftop tent that can sleep two adults. For added durability, spray-in bed liner was coated on the roof as well. Extra trail insurance on the Overland is found in the off-road rock rails and front and rear skid plates. Much like the Africa Wrangler, the Overland features a few sneaky little tweaks (such as the additional lift and new front fascia) that could possibly make their way onto production vehicles one day. Even if not, the diesel-powered Grand Cherokee is a blast on the trails, especially with the added lift taking the stress out of worrying if you’ll scrape the front bumper on uphill and downhill obstacles.