Beefy Jeep Wrangler 41 throws back to 1941

Jeeps are all things to all people these days, but there is at least a little of the original DNA of that first Willys-Overland model in today’s Wrangler, the toughest and most formidably go-anywhere of the current line-up.

And the most capable version of all the Wranglers is the Jeep Wrangler 1941, a UK-only special-edition version of the latest model, dreamed up ­– you guessed – to mark the old stager’s 80^th birthday. Anniversaries are flavour of the month with car companies right now as marketing teams seize every opportunity to come up with special editions. It doesn’t necessarily make them a bad idea.

Any Wrangler is extremely capable and the 1941 edition is the most capable ever offered for sale in the UK, says Jeep. A factory-fit 2-inch lift kit, splash guards, extended guards and more underbody protection are the added items from the Mopar parts bin that should go down well with the true off-road aficionado.

If it’s just the tough looks you want then they have been given a boost too with black sill guards, black fuel filler flap and all-weather mats. Okay, so not much of a boost. But with its Tonka toy looks and configurable open-top four-door body, any Wrangler does look the part already. And to get the heritage message across, there’s a logo on the bonnet – nope, not a big white star but a giant “1941” emblazoned across it. It probably wouldn’t have been General Patton’s choice…

There are to be 41 of them only, all based on the top Rubicon model, powered by a 2.2-litre Multijet diesel engine and available in Brilliant black, Granite Crystal, Firecracker red or Billet silver, priced from £58,050.