“The concept integrates two icons together in one: the Wrangler, as the off-road icon of the Jeep brand, and the honored Chinese dragon. Belief holds that both possess incredible capabilities, making them a perfect combination.”
The Jeep Wrangler Dragon design concept is based on a China-market Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon painted black with a black body-color three-piece hard top. As you would expect from a car that bears the image of the dragon, there are a number of bronze-gold details. These bronze-gold details can be found inside the front grille slats, headlamp surrounds and Jeep badging front and rear.
The unique 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels are matte black with a bronze-gold high-gloss outer edge and feature 35-inch off-road tires. A pad-printed engine cover, bolts for the fuel-filler door and the taillamp assembly, a Chinese dragon character side badge and wheel center caps are all finished in the bronze gold color.
The exterior also has black highlights such as painted fenders, a gloss-black applique on the front bumper, and a tone-on-tone dragon decal that starts on the hood and runs down the driver’s side of the vehicle. There is also a dragon motif on a unique carbon-fiber insulator mounted under the hood and on the gloss-black spare tire cover. Mopar® operations recently opened in Shanghai and Chrysler is using the Wrangler Dragon design concept as a vehicle to increase awareness of the brand. Exterior touches include a Mopar® fuel-filler door and a black-finish LED exterior lighting package that features aftermarket projector headlamps, fog lamps, turn lamps and taillamps.
The black and bronze-gold theme continues in the interior with black leather seating surfaces with bronze-gold accent piping and stitching. Magic Wand metallic leather is on the side bolsters and the sides of the head restraints, while a laser-etched dragon pattern is on the face of the head restraints. Dragon-scale patterned bronze-gold leather covers the outside edges of the seats and front center arm rest.
Other interior touches include high-gloss piano black instrument panel bezels, bronze-gold accent trim on the steering wheel spokes, instrument cluster, passenger-side dashboard grab handle and door handles,and gold accent stitching on the leather-wrapped door bolsters. Finishing the interior modifications are dragon tags on the front and rear floor mats.
The press brief details why Jeep thinks the Dragon is very apt on the Wrangler. Chinese dragons symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rain and winds and their more severe weather phenomena. Dragons are symbols of the natural world, adaptability and transformation – divine creatures capable of doing anything.
There is a possibility of the Jeep Wrangler Dragon being taken into production based on the interest generated.
Autocar India recently reported that the Jeep brand might come to India with the Grand Cherokee. Interesting times ahead.