What do you get when you strip down a 2007 Wrangler to its bones and throw out everything you don't need for offroading and add stuff that you do need for serious offroading. The Rubicon King. Here's some details from Chrysler's media-only blog:

“Basically, the vehicle is stripped of everything you don’t need. It’s stripped down for rock crawling. They even took the radio out,” said Mark Allen, senior manager of Jeep Truck Design Studio.

In addition to the radio, the designers also took out the rear seat. In its place sits a spare 37-inch tire which is clamped to the 17-inch wheel, again, all the better for rock crawling. As Allen explained, rock crawlers often deflate their tires, and need them clamped so they stay on the wheel. You can’t see it here, but there’s a Detroit Tigers logo in the center of the spare.

The 4-Wheel Drive emblem on the back was spray-painted through a stencil, which Allen said was the same way many Jeep enthusiasts used to do things.

There’s also a customized rollbar, and a customized hood from American Expedition Vehicles with dual air intakes.

The concept is in keeping with the iconic image of the Jeep brand, Allen said. “If it looks like the Jeep we always built, then I did my job,” he said. This is from the press release:

Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon King
An amplification of Jeep's most capable off-road machine. Taking full advantage of the 4:1 ratio Rock-Trac transfer case and Tru-Lok equipped Dana 44 axles, the Rubicon King utilizes massive BF Goodrich 37 x 12.50-17 TA Krawler tires mounted on Mopar/Hutchinson beadlock wheels. Superlift Suspension provided its new 4-inch lift for extra ground clearance and Warn-supplied new 9.0 RC Rock Crawling Winch.

Custom features include relocation of the spare tire where the back seat used to reside, fender flares and grille trimmed for extreme clearance, trick lighting, military spec tow shackles and radio delete plate. Other features include American Expedition vehicle's new heat-reduction hood and rear corner guards.

Not destined to be a show queen, it’ll be put to the test in Moab Utah during Easter Jeep Safari.

High-res photos are available on flikr.