The V8 Jeep Wrangler Is Likely About to Be Killed Off

The current automotive era may be filled with exciting changes, but it’s also bringing sorrow — at least, for fans of V8 engines, which are verging on becoming an endangered species in the new car market. Part of this is due to rising emissions standards and corporate average fuel economy concerns, but it’s also due to a simple cost-benefit analysis: as smaller engines become more powerful and automakers are spending mighty sums to transition over to electric power, there’s less reason to keep investing in giant, thirsty eight-cylinder motors.

So I can’t say I’m surprised to hear that the Jeep Wrangler may be losing its craziest, coolest current variant: the Hemi V8-powered Wrangler Rubicon 392. But I certainly am a little saddened.

Word surfaced through the well-connected JL Wrangler Forums community via Motor1, in the form of an internal dealer presentation slide regarding sales goals for January; move enough metal, it says, and your dealership could be eligible to win an allocation of the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition.

Official confirmation then followed on January 22nd, when Jeep posted an image of the Rubicon 392 Final Edition’s badge on their social media accounts

Neither the slide nor post included any information on what the Final Edition will include, but past is precedent at Mopar, so we can make an informed guess. Ram’s TRX Final Edition, for example, came with beadlock-capable wheels, a unique color palette and, of course, special badges; the 392 already has the first, but the latter two seem almost guaranteed. Considering the regular 2024 Wrangler Rubicon 392 starts at $93,935, you can also expect this Final Edition model may be the first Wrangler to roll out of the factory with a six-figure price tag.

Jeep

The ditching of the 392 is logical, considering the other moves Jeep’s parent brand has been making as of late. Stellantis is in the midst of phasing out its Hemi V8s: they’ve already been banished from Jeep’s Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer; the 2025 Ram 1500 that arrives in the next couple months is ditching them; and the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger and Challenger have already died off with their Hemis still under their hoods.

Stellantis

Replacing the 5.7-liter and 6.4-liter eight-cylinder engines in existing and future models, of course, is the Hurricane — the new powertrain pride-and-joy of Stellantis’s American divisions. (Boy, I miss the days when we could just call those brands “Chrysler.”) It’s an all-new 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six that comes in two outputs; the “standard output version” that replaces the 5.7-liter Hemi makes 420 horsepower and 468 lb-ft, while the “high output” variant that replaces the 6.4-liter eight-pot spits out either 510 or 540 hp and 500 or 521 lb-ft, depending on where it’s being used.

Granted, the 6.4-liter V8-powered Jeep Wrangler was always an unorthodox vehicle. From the start, the Wrangler Rubicon 392 was as much toy as transportation — a largely illogical, over-the-top plaything that defies logic but fills gearhead hearts with joy. The Wrangler 4xe is a far better choice for most buyers, making just as much torque as the 392 but also delivering better gas mileage and 20-plus miles of electric range for far less money, but it lacks the sheer goofy delight. As your humble author put it upon driving it for the first time, “The Jeep Wrangler 392 is absurd … but that’s kind of the point.“

That said, the demise of the Wrangler 392 doesn’t mean the end of super-potent open-top Jeeps. Of course, there’s always the chance of an extra-potent Recon EV, or a future electric Wrangler with Hemi-rivaling thrust. But even on the gas-powered front, there’s room to hope. After all, it’s not like there isn’t ample precedent for an inline-six Wrangler …