It's easy to be cynical about retro special editions, especially when so many automakers offer them—and so many of them are lazily put together. Off-road SUVs are an especially easy target for a few stickers and an upcharge, like the Ford Bronco, Toyota 4Runner, and of course, the ubiquitous Jeep Wrangler.
Jeep has been doing retro special editions longer than most, leaning hard into its military roots. So many of them are unremarkable, but if they're done right, a military-inspired modern Jeep can be a pretty sweet idea. The new Wrangler Willys 41 Edition certainly isn’t perfect, but as far as special editions go, it gets closer than most.
Beyond a bunch of Willys logos slapped onto the fender, Jeep added special paint, new wheels, custom badges, and a few touches to the interior that help this special edition Wrangler feel, well, more special.
The military-inspired olive drab exterior comes shockingly close to the original Willys scheme (at least, in photos). Willys / 4xe decals in a period-correct Drab Blue line either side of the hood, while there’s a second 4xe badge on the back end, as well as a 4 Wheel Drive logo. The decals on the hood are meant to mimic the mandatory stenciling found on the hoods of Willys MBs during World War II. A neat touch.
The matte black accent on the hood offsets the olive drab paint (and helps curb reflections while out on the trail), with a ‘41 logo displayed prominently in the bottom left corner. That ‘41, in case you don’t know, is a nod to the year 1941, when the United States Army officially commissioned a fleet of 1,500 Willys-Overland Jeeps for military use.
The new Wrangler Willys 41 Edition certainly isn’t perfect, but as far as special editions go, it gets closer than most.
The wheels are excellent. The five-spoke, 17-inch shoes come shod in the same olive drab paint as the rest of the body, and they do a decent impression of the Willys’ original steelies. They’re wrapped in 33-inch all-terrain tires and feature a neat little Willys silhouette logo in the center caps.
The interior continues the throwback theme with tan cloth seats, a subtle olive drab fabric dashboard design, and a ‘41 logo on the shifter. Buyers can still choose from a few different roof options, both hard- and soft-tops, with an available tan soft-top option—the correct choice. This particular model, though, keeps it simple with a monotone metal roof.
Pop open the tailgate and there’s a fun little easter egg on the interior panel: An etched plaque with the "JL '41" and "Willys / 4xe" monikers, a side-by-side sketch of the original Willys with the current Wrangler, and an American flag with homage to Jeep’s Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters where this vehicle was developed.
Under the hood is Jeep’s 4xe powertrain with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and two electric motors delivering 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Love it or hate it, the 4xe powertrain is at least powerful—though, we certainly wouldn’t mind the 392’s Hemi V-8 instead.
The big problem with this Wrangler—the problem with so many special edition off-roaders—is how much it costs. The base Wrangler Unlimited 4xe starts at $52,590 with destination, while the 41 Package is a cool $9,235 on top of that, and adding the black and heritage tan interior is an extra $3,995. That brings the total price to a whopping $73,095.
Not exactly a bargain for a Wrangler with some cool wheels and heritage paint.
But for all the so-called special editions out there, this one at least feels somewhat special. Jeep's military roots aren't just cosplay; the custom touches on this Wrangler come straight from the history books and make sense on a modern Jeep.
If you're a fan of that heritage and have a whole hell of a lot of money to spend, you could certainly do worse than the Wrangler Willys 41 Edition.
