DIRT RIOT

THE LONG-AWAITED V-8 WRANGLER IS MORE THAN JUST AN ENGINE SWAP

- SEAN P. HOLMAN

If we told you there’s a new vehicle on the block with 470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque from a 392-cubic-inch V-8, a 0–60 time of 4.2 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 12.9 seconds, and that it’s an all-wheel-drive convertible, would you guess we’re talking about a Jeep Wrangler? Maybe—if we also told you the doors come off, the windshield folds down, and it has a crawl ratio of 48:1. Meet the 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392.

After years of customer requests, Jeep finally put a factory V-8 in the Wrangler for the first time, and, holy heck, it was worth the wait. The powertrain is the same 6.4-liter V-8 and eight-speed automatic found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, but the engineering team needed to make several substantive changes to shoehorn the Hemi into the Wrangler’s tight engine compartment.

For example, a redesigned front accessory drive sees the alternator moved to the top of the engine, and the oil filter mount had to be adapted to clear the front axle’s travel. New cast-iron exhaust manifolds are tucked tight to the engine, and a rear-sump oil pan is fitted. The cooling module moves forward 0.8 inch to better manage heat, and the regular Wrangler’s 600-watt fan is now an 850-watt unit. The 392 also uses the Jeep Gladiator’s higher-airflow grille.