Dakar concept vehicle likely for production
By Alastair Doak
CHRYSLER Corp will decide within a few months if it will build a production version of the Dakar concept vehicle.
The Dakar is a four-door version of the Wrangler and was unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January.
The ruggedly handsome wagon would slot in just below the more urban-oriented Cherokee wagon, due for replacement early next century after a run that stretches back to 1983.
The next Jeep due to go on sale is a new version of the Grand Cherokee and will be unveiled within two years.
This vehicle will introduce new technology and perhaps a new six-cylinder engine. It will ride on a longer wheelbase than the present model, although a seven-seat version is not planned.
The Grand Cherokee is also expected to be as much as 100kg lighter than the present model.
By 2001, an all-new Cherokee will be on sale, made at a new factory in Toledo, Ohio. The US$1 billion state-of-the-art facility will replace the present Toledo plant which is the oldest vehicle-manufacturing plant in the United States.
Unlike modern factories, this plant has a number of levels and even has wooden floors.
The new Cherokee may be a little shorter than the present model but will offer more interior space.
A new Wrangler, which could use styling cues from the Icon show car, which was shown in Detroit earlier this year, will appear sometime between 2003 and 2006.
Jeep's product manager, Tony Richards, said the company would make a decision on the Dakar within three months to six months.
It would then take 30 months to develop the vehicle. The go- ahead, not surprisingly, hinges on development costs and whether Jeep has enough people and other resources to develop the car.
Richards said it would cost about $250 million to turn the Dakar from concept to production car.
He said the cost was high because the Dakar and Wrangler only shared two exterior panels and the Wrangler's chassis would have to be modified extensively.
The Dakar, for example, rides on a longer wheelbase. Chrysler's Jeep designers and engineers will develop a separate monocoque body which will sit on the extended (by 381mm) Wrangler chassis.
The Dakar also uses fully pressed doors and gets a different windscreen. Both are expensive production items.
The extended chassis allows rear doors to be added and obviously turns it into a true four-seat Wrangler.
But the rear-door openings are not large, so getting in and out of the back will not be a simple process.
Richards said the company believed the Dakar would add sales as it would appeal to buyers who would not consider a Cherokee.
The Dakar is hard to misplace as anything but an Indiana Jones-adventure machine, ready to roll.
Folding shovels built into the front guard, jerricans built into the tailgate, sliding canvas sunroof and a battery of roof- mounted rally lights may not all make it to the showroom floor but add "be-prepared" style in spades.
The basic panels read Jeep from bumper to bumper with a Wrangler nose up front and styling cues such as exposed door hinges.
Other tricks in the Detroit show wagon include an "adventure module", designed to fit inside the rear door and featuring a night-vision scope, binoculars, flashlight and compass.
When the vehicle was revealed earlier this year, Chrysler Corp's design director Trevor Creed said: "At a time when many sport utility vehicles look the same, Dakar is in a class by itself".
"No one will mistake the identify of Dakar as it is an authentic, instantly recognizable design execution that opens up new opportunities for one of the world's most recognized brands".