Jeep Gladiator Turned Into CJ-8 Scrambler By Dealer Costs $51,220
Still cheaper than the average Gladiator these days.
We’ve seen quite a few modified Jeep Gladiators in the past few weeks. From the military concept by AM General, to the built-in camper conversion by FiftyTen, to the off-road-ready Evo beast, the truck serves as a great foundation for all kinds of cool tuning projects. And this new one makes no exception, aside from the fact that it actually comes from a Jeep dealer in Michigan and not an aftermarket firm. Meet the modern-day CJ-8 Scrambler tribute.
The visual connection between the original Scrambler and this interpretation is obvious – both have orange and light brown decals behind the front fenders to the bed, as well as custom trailer-style white wheels, plus a roll cage in the back. Yes, it looks very similar to Jeep’s own Scrambler tribute, the Gladiator JT Scrambler concept, but the alloys and a few other details make a huge difference. If we have to compare the two, the dealer project seems to stay closer to the original truck’s design.
Gallery: Jeep Gladiator Scrambler tribute
The newer interpretation is based on a Gladiator Sport S model and has a 3.6-liter V6 engine under the hood. That’s the Gladiator’s only powertrain option today and it’s way more powerful than the original CJ-8 – 285 horsepower (212 kilowatts) and 260 pound-feet (352 Newton-meters) versus just 115 hp (86 kW) and 210 lb-ft (285 Nm). Power here is channeled to all four wheels through an automatic gearbox and that’s the only thing we’d change – a manual would probably better suit this Scrambler tribute.
See Jeep's CJ-8 Tribute:
There’s one more major difference between this modern CJ-8 and Jeep’s concept from April – you can actually buy the former. The Michigan dealer that built this tribute is asking $51,220 after discounts for it, which is not cheap, but still less than what new Gladiator clients are paying on average.
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