The Jeep Sandstorm turned heads at the 2018 Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah this Spring. As one of the seven Jeep concepts to debut at the Easter Jeep Safari. The Sandstorm Concept is the question, what would it take to make a high-speed baja race truck out of a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon.
Inspired by Baja desert racers, the Jeep Sandstorm concept is all about blitzing long, sandy straightaways while still being capable of handling the daily driving duties. To accomplish this, the Sandstorm features off-road hardware that will handle both with ease, including an extreme-duty suspension system and a powertrain with excess power on tap.
To fit the Baja look, the exterior features custom styling cues including a vented carbon fiber hood, vented high clearance front and rear fender flares and a cage that includes a rear mounted lay down style spare tire carrier. The exterior handles and swing gate have been removed while the rear doors have been chopped for a cleaner look.
Other custom Baja-inspired touches include high clearance front and rear tube bumpers, modified rock rails, an integrated on-board air compressor, race-style fuel filler, KC Carbon series front auxiliary lights and a chase light.
The front axle has been moved forward four inches and utilizes a heavy-duty longarm four-link suspension and track bar. The rear axle has been moved back two inches and utilizes a triangulated trailing arm four-link suspension. The longer wheelbase allows for increased high-speed stability. Custom coilovers and bypass shocks allow the front wheels to travel 14 inches while the rear wheels can travel up to 18 inches.
For even more capability, the Jeep Sandstorm concept includes heavy-duty front and rear Dynatrac 60 axles with a 5.38 gear ratio, 17-inch beadlock wheels and 39.5-inch BF Goodrich Krawler tires.
The Baja race truck theme continues throughout the interior, which features a custom cage that integrates the chassis, leather-trimmed front seats and unique low-back racing bucket seats in the rear. A racing-inspired cluster and 7-inch off-road GPS unit handle navigation while independent rocker switches control on-board electronics, air compressor and axle lockers. The Sandstorm concept sheds all plastic trim and carpet in favor of a bedlined floor.
The Jeep Sandstorm is powered by a 6.4-liter 392 SRT HEMI V-8 engine from the Mopar performance catalog and is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
