It's the week before Easter and that means we're in Moab, Utah for the Moab Easter Jeep Safari. This mega-party for Jeep owners rounds up every size and
shape of Jeep vehicle and sprinkles them all over the red rocks surrounding this sleepy little Utah town.
Not only does EJS draw Jeep owners from flatfender freaks to JK groupies it's also where Jeep corporation and Mopar display their latest and greatest custom
4x4's. For 2010 they brought two of the coolest Jeeps we've seen in a long time. One is the giant ImMortal JK trail machine stuffed with a Hemi V8 and
boulder straddling portal axles. Our other favorite is the low slung battle tank known as the NuKizer, a military J8 based diesel pickup with custom body
work reminiscent of a classic M-715 military jeep from the 70's.
NUKIZER
The Nukizer started life as the foreign military J8 diesel Jeep before going under the knife of the Jeep design studio. The body was chopped down to just a
cab, and the frame stretched to 124-inch wheelbase while keeping the 4-cylinder diesel and automatic transmission. Then a customized AEV Brute bed and
fiberglass front clip were added and dowsed in battleship grey for the mini-M715-esque aesthetic. 38-inch rubber, Dynatrac axles, Tom Woods Driveshafts and
an Atlas transfer case are just some of the guts that make up this tough new fighting machine.
NuKizer
Engine: 2.8-liter turbo diesel I-4
Transmission: four-speed automatic
Overall height: 75.2 inches
Overall width: 78.6 inches
Wheelbase: 124 inches
Weight: 4,500 pounds
Tires: 38 x 14.50-R17 BF Goodrich KM2
IMMORTAL
Mopar is the aftermarket accessory division of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, and The ImMortal is a big green Jeep built by the lunatic fringe of Mopar, (also
known as the crazy off-road guys amongst Mopar's drag racing and street performance enthusiasts). Starting out as a 4-door JK Wrangler it was lifted over
custom AxleTech Portal equipped axles, the front a Dynatrac Prorock 44 with AAM Power Wagon outers and the rear an AAM Power Wagon both stuffed with 4.56
gears and selectable lockers. The big JK is outfitted with a plethora of Mopar body armor, seat covers, recovery gear and a healthy Hemi V8 under the hood.
ImMortal
Prototype Mopar portal axle assemblies
42 x 14.5 x 17LT Goodyear MTR tires
Mopar Jeep Wrangler 4:1 Rock Trac transfer case
Mopar Jeep Wrangler 2-inch lift kit
Mopar Performance body armor
Mopar AEV heat-reduction hood
Mopar half-door kit
Mopar sun bonnet
Mopar Jeep Wrangler seat covers
Paint - Viper Snakeskin Green Pearlcoat
Tom Woods custom drive shafts
AEV 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 conversion
Off-road front and rear bumpers
Hydraulic steering assist
Katzkin leather seats
GET'S YA THINKING
So why does Jeep bring such cool stuff to Moab? Simple, it's all marketing and research of some sort. Mopar is of course showing off stuff that is or could
be in their future performance parts catalog (can you say bolt in portal axle?-wait and see), and the Design group of Jeep is definitely telling us that
there is still a desire for a Jeep pickup and a diesel engine. We're pretty sure a diesel Jeep pickup on portals would make us happy next year.......