Jeep Almost Gave Us An Entry Level Suzuki Samurai Fighter In The 1990s

Some proposed are killed at the concept stage, and some go deep into development before ultimately being scrapped. That’s what happened at Jeep in the 1990s when the brand was developing an entry level model that would have brought a basic, cheap off-roader to the masses.

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Found by way of an old Allpar article (and a tweet on X.com. H/T to @Mike_M_Koltz) by former Jeep engineer Bob Sheaves, Jeep was apparently developing an entry level model as a direct response to the Suzuki Samurai. Internally, it was called “JJ” which stood for “Junior Jeep”.

Jeep saw the success that Suzuki was having with the Samurai and wanted in. It designed a vehicle with superior performance that could be sold around the world for cheap. The plan, as Sheaves described, was to build the Jeep using off the shelf parts and a simplified production process to keep costs down.

The initial design work was done by a team led by Jeep’s design chief at the time, Bob Nixon. The result was exactly what you’d expect a Samurai fighting Jeep to look like. The team came up with a two door convertible. Up front, there was Jeep’s signature seven-slot grille flanked by squared headlights and amber turn signals that wouldn’t look out of place on a JL Wrangler. Around back were taillights that almost looked as if they were upside down set low into the rear bumper. And in a unique design move, the lower fenders, front bumper and roll bar were all connected. The result was a vehicle with an 87-inch wheelbase that was 63-inches wide and 131-inches long.

Engineers were tasked with making the JJ a real Jeep, something that could make it over the Rubicon trail. Engines and components were off the shelf to keep costs low. Hemmings says originally, two Renault four-cylinder engines were considered to power the JJ. After Chrysler’s purchase of AMC in 1987, Sheaves says the 2.5-liter I4 and five-speed manual from the Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni were used. To further keep costs down and things simple, Eaves says the engine was turned 90 degrees so a single speed transfer case could be used.

Chrysler was so far into JJ development that they even had an idea of what they wanted it to cost. Sheaves says the automaker wanted the JJ to cost “on the order of one quarter to one third less than the Grand Cherokee.” This was going to be helped by its production process as Sheaves described. “It was designed to be 13 separate modules, assembled by suppliers, and practically snapped together at the assembly line — without needing electricity to snap pieces together.” The JJ was also going to have a simplified lineup consisting of just one body style, one engine and one transmission.

Even with cost saving measures like the production process and off the shelf parts, the JJ wasn’t meant to be and the project was canceled. There were a few reasons, one of which was the JJ’s off-road performance. According to Hemmings, more than a few engineers felt it wasn’t an actual Jeep because it couldn’t handle itself off-road during testing on the Rubicon trail, something Sheaves spoke on.

“Ultimately, it was killed as it could not make it over the Rubicon unassisted and wasn’t considered a true Jeep by the majority. The JJ could not traverse the Rubicon Trail completely without a towrope on one steep section. It lacked the tire static loaded radius to get across one particular technical challenge. That was the only failure to complete the test. Evan Boberg and I disagree on this point, as I feel it was a true Jeep, same as the original MBs were. A stock MB a friend of mine had was unable to cross the Rubicon trail without assistance.”

Sheaves seems to state that he thinks a bigger tire would have helped instead of the 29-inch used on the JJ. He mentions that engineers tried going for a 31-inch tire, but they wouldn’t fit “without hitting and tearing up the front fenders and wheelhouse.” Another issue was the program’s cost. As the JJ got further along in development, additional body styles started being proposed, the main of which was a four-door version. According to Hemmings, this caught the attention of executives, who ultimately killed its development and redistributed its budget to other programs.

It prompted Chrysler Vice President Bob Lutz to believe that the program had grown too large. The program also became too expensive for the limited amount of profit it could generate, versus the more profitable Grand Cherokee. So, Jeep got the new Grand Cherokee, Dodge received sharp new pickup trucks, and JJ was dropped.

Sixty pre-production prototypes were built. It’s not known what happened to them. While Sheaves says he believes that the JJ could have sold well, we never got anything close to a proper Samurai fighter from Jeep. The band eventually came out with entry level models years later with the Compass and Patriot, but early versions of those models were even less Jeep-like than the JJ.