The next Jeep Gladiator (see video) won’t be a part-electric 4xe model, claims Car & Driver quoting sources inside the company. Apparently, Jeep decided to listen to its customers and offer the truck with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 instead.
The Jeep Gladiator is a body-on-frame pickup truck based on Wrangler SUV underpinnings. The report doesn’t mention a similar fate coming to the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe, so both hybrids should remain available. The truck, on the other hand, will undergo a redesign before it becomes available.
The automaker announced the part-electric Gladiator back in 2024, but then postponed the launch quoting “changing customer preferences.” The original plan was to release it with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor or two. When Stellantis started to reconsider its product lineup, it ditched the Ram 1500 EV among the first. Both Ram and Jeep brands are Stellantis Group brands, so it’s unsurprising that both electric trucks got scrapped.
According to the reports, the next-gen Jeep Gladiator will feature a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 with a bottom-mounted crankshaft receiving 477 PS (470 hp / 351 kW). It will go on sale under the name “Rubicon 392”, just like the current Wrangler flagship. For our non-U.S. readers, the number 392 refers to the engine displacement in cubic inches.
Jeep admitted back in the summer that the V8 engine wasn’t ready for retirement in the present market conditions. Furthermore, the company saw the need to expand its V8 offerings in the future. This means we may look forward to more high-performance Jeeps emerging soon, some of them wearing the company’s revived SRT badge.
