Quadratec JTe Is the Two-Door Gladiator That Jeep Doesn’t Make
This entertaining off-roader is a post-op Wrangler 4xe built for SEMA, but it’s much more than a show pony.
About six months after its green paint was shimmering on display at last year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, the Jeep Quadratec JTe concept was covered in dirt, horsing around at Holly Oaks ORV Park in Michigan. About 60 miles north of Car and Driver headquarters in Ann Arbor, the off-road playground, with its bounty of obstacles and varied terrain, provided the perfect environment to find out whether the one-of-a-kind four-wheeler is a true workhorse or just a show pony.
A Two-Door Gladiator Is Born
It didn’t take us long to realize that the custom-built Jeep exceeded the lofty capabilities of the Wrangler Rubicon 4xe it’s based on. We easily scaled a sheer rock face in 4L with both differentials locked. We disconnected the front anti-roll bar and flexed the suspension over a section of large boulders. And we also slid the JTe around a gravel pit while we hooted and hollered and kicked up huge dust clouds. That last bit had less to do with vehicle evaluation and more to do with something our therapist calls failure-to-launch syndrome.
Sure, 37-inch Nitto Recon Grappler A/T tires and a 2.5-inch Lynx suspension lift help the Quadratec JTe feel extra capable, but the fact that the mini–monster truck is believable as a real two-door Gladiator is a testament to the job done by builder Greg Henderson. Even more impressive, all the fabrication was done by hand, transforming what began as a four-door 2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe into the JTe concept, whose moniker combines the Gladiator’s JT model code with «e» to identify the electrified powertrain.
Jeep enthusiasts will recognize Quadratec as a go-to source for aftermarket equipment, and the supplier created the idea of a two-door, plug-in-hybrid Gladiator. Currently, Jeep’s convertible pickup truck is offered only with four doors, and the odds of a factory two-door are slim to none. Meanwhile, a plug-in-hybrid 4xe version of the Gladiator will likely become available for the 2024 model year. Like many SEMA builds, the JTe provides a showcase for Quadratec’s aftermarket business, but the company has no intention of building a two-door Gladiator like the JTe for customers. Instead, Quadratec specifically commissioned Henderson to build a hybrid-powered concept to coincide with its ongoing «50 for 50» trail-stewardship initiative, which promotes sustainable off-roading and partners with the nonprofit Tread Lightly! and others to clean up trail systems in every state. This led to a Wrangler 4xe as the JTe’s starting point.
Electrifying Jeeps Aplenty
Then the cutting began. Henderson basically chopped off the back half of the Wrangler’s cab, removing the rear seats and cargo area but leaving the ladder frame beneath. He then resealed the cab using Mopar replacement body panels and fabricated a unique hardtop that’s compatible with Jeep’s removable roof panels. While the five-foot cargo bed was sourced from a regular Gladiator, Henderson had to fill in about 10 inches of missing material.
On our scales, the JTe weighs 5635 pounds, which is 317 pounds heavier than a factory four-door Wrangler Rubicon 4xe we’ve tested. That has a marginal impact on the concept’s acceleration, as its 5.7-second sprint to 60 mph and quarter-mile run of 14.4 seconds at 94 mph are a few tenths behind the stock version. Visually, though, most people wouldn’t know the JTe is different from other heavily modified Jeeps. Hell, we might not have noticed, had we not known better.
Apart from relocating the roughly 14.0-kWh battery from under the old rear seats to a higher position under the cargo bed, Henderson left the Wrangler’s hybrid powertrain alone, meaning the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and the electric motor mounted in the eight-speed automatic transmission still combine for 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. On the stock 4xe, electric range is EPA estimated at 21 miles, and its combined fuel-economy rating is 20 mpg, but the JTe’s extra mass, lift kit, and massive tires render those EPA figures irrelevant.
More Than a Jeep Thing
We had the JTe at the off-road park for only a couple of fun-filled hours, but afterward we spent several days driving it like any other grocery getter. And on the street, the jacked-up Jeep attracts a ton of attention. Perhaps that’s thanks to the attractive paint job accented by bronze-colored trim and matching 17-inch Lynx Trail Gunner wheels. Or maybe it’s Quadratec’s intimidating Carnivore front bumper, which incorporates a 12,000-pound Res-Q Teton winch. A second 9000-pound winch lives in the rear bumper behind the detachable license plate. By far our personal favorite accessory is the slim 50-inch light bar mounted inside the top of the windshield. It makes stoplights harder to see, but its amber setting looks badass, and unlike many roof-mounted light bars, it doesn’t cause wind noise. Yet there’s no avoiding the excess noise inside the JTe’s cabin, where the sound level is a lofty 78 decibels during 70-mph cruising. That’s four times the sound pressure and twice the perceived volume of a stock Wrangler 4xe’s 72-decibel figure.
While the concept’s cabin is cramped and noisy, it isn’t a torture chamber. Regular Wranglers aren’t particularly refined, and the JTe doesn’t feel as far off as one would expect from this Frankenstein-mobile. The Katzkin leather seat covers with Quadratec branding and the 3-D-printed door pockets hint at its modified nature, but because stick-axle Jeeps are often defined by personalization, those details aren’t out of place. The aftermarket Alpine touchscreen is, however, with its bulky bezel and low-res graphics. But it is responsive to inputs, and wireless Apple CarPlay works flawlessly—something we can’t always say about OEM infotainment systems.
Our biggest gripes are an incessant squeaking behind the passenger’s seat and what sounds like a hive of angry bees under the hood (we don’t recall hearing that during our last test of a Wrangler 4xe). The other major issue is that the retrofitted cab creates a big blind spot over the driver’s left shoulder, necessitating extreme neck craning to check the left lane. After the JTe initially wouldn’t accept a charge, we reached out to Henderson, whose solution was to «plug it in, unplug it, then plug it right back in.» While that did the trick, it’s obviously not ideal. Quadratec thinks the charging issues could be caused by a communication issue with the aftermarket infotainment, but it is a problem other Wrangler 4xe owners have experienced, according to posts in various Jeep forums.
Still, we’ve said worse about vehicles that are built in a full-fledged factory. The Jeep Quadratec JTe was built in a garage in 90 days. Despite that, it always felt fully operational, and we never thought it would fall apart on the highway, which is not something we can say about all SEMA show cars. We can also say that the JTe is an entertaining one-off off-roader.
Specifications
Specifications
2022 Quadratec JTe
Vehicle Type: front-engine, front- and mid-motor, 4-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door pickup
PRICE
Base/As Tested: not for sale
POWERTRAIN
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 270 hp, 295 lb-ft + 2 AC motors, 44 and 134 hp, 39 and 181 lb-ft (combined output: 375 hp, 470 lb-ft; 14.0-kWh [C/D est] lithium-ion battery pack; 7.2-kW onboard charger)
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: live axle/live axle
Brakes, F/R: 13.0-in vented disc/13.8-in vented disc
Tires: Nitto Recon Grappler A/T
37×12.5R-17 LT D 124R M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 118.4 in
Length: 197.0 in
Width: 73.8 in
Height: 76.0 in
Passenger Volume: 54 ft 3
Curb Weight: 5635 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 5.7 sec
1/4-Mile: 14.4 sec @ 94 mph
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 7.0 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.8 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.0 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd): 97 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 202 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.72 g
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.
Jeep’s 2-door pickups are ready to rock. crawl
Mark Allen, Head of Jeep Design, talks to Fox News Autos about what goes into styling the popular SUVs and what to expect from the new ones on the way.
The new 4-door Jeep Gladiator pickup is off to a strong start after the automaker received 4,190 orders on the day it opened the books for a special Launch Edition, but it’s already teasing the idea of a 2-door.
Jeep always brings a batch of custom trucks to the annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari off-roading event in Utah and this year’s includes a concept called the J6 that’s a Gladiator modified with a single cab and a 6-foot bed.
The Gladiator Rubicon-based truck was created to show off some of the accessories Jeep’s working on for it, and includes several prototype pieces like a light bar, in-bed spare tire rack and deep-dish 5-spoke beadlock wheels. The blue pickup also features a body-color spray-in bedliner, which would be a factory first if it makes it into production.
Jeep used to sell a conversion kit that turned a 4-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited into a 2-door pickup similar to the J6, but hasn’t offered a production truck like it since the 1980’s Scrambler.
Speaking of which, Jeep has also outfitted a 4-door Gladiator with a classic Scrambler graphics package for the event that’s loaded with accessories and rides on 37-inch tires, but the retro look is what it’s all about.
It can’t compete with the Jeep M-715 Five-Quarter for classic styling, though. The resto-modded 1968 Kaiser Jeep M-715 military truck has been updated with rear coil springs, Rubicon bumpers, modern Dynatrac axles a chopped convertible top and a perforated tailgate and bedsides. It’s also equipped with a 707 hp 6.2-liter supercharged “Hellcrate” V8 that’s slightly more powerful than the 132.5 hp Tornado straight-six the truck was originally powered by.
Here’s Your First Glimpse of the Two-Door Jeep Wrangler Pickup
Based on insider info, these renderings from JL Wrangler Forums give us our best guess yet at how the Jeep Wrangler pickup truck will look.
By Bob Sorokanich Published: Jun 12, 2017
In general, we know what the long-rumored, even-longer-awaited Jeep Wrangler pickup will look like: Boxy, upright, with round headlights and a seven-hole grille. But the success of this model will no doubt come down to the details, and thanks to the insiders at JL Wrangler Forums, we’ve got a good glimpse at what the Wrangler pickup could look like.
Based on the latest insider info, JL Wrangler Forums whipped up best-guess renderings of how the next-generation Wrangler could look as a two- and four-door Rubicon pickup. Of note, the in-the-know forum folks say that the pickup will share its windshield, grille, headlights, bumpers, front fenders, and hood with the regular Wrangler. However, the pickup won’t have the JL Wrangler’s character line that runs below the windows on the front and rear doors, though the pickup bed will apparently feature its own horizontal crease. The fender vents behind the front wheel openings will likewise go missing, the forum posters maintain.
Other pickup truck features to pay attention to: It’s expected that the leading edge of the truck bed will be angle-cut to follow the shape of the door opening, rather than a vertical gap between bed and cab as seen on most traditional pickup trucks. JL Wrangler Forums also suspect that the pickup, like the two- and four-door Wrangler, will feature a new door hinge design and updated pull-style door handles, replacing the current generation’s push-button units.
We’re most interested in the idea of a two-door Wrangler Rubicon pickup—a vehicle that, should it go into production, would offer all the right-size off-road ability of a Wrangler with more utility than any previous generation of the storied 4×4.