American Expedition Vehicles' Jeep Brute

American Expedition Vehicles of Montana recented introduced their latest Jeep conversion vehicle - the Jeep Brute.

According to their Web site: "The Brute is a highly mobile utility vehicle designed for extreme use. Ranchers to oil companies, this vehicle fills the gap between heavy duty one-ton pickups that lack serious off-road capability and light-duty vehicles that would be operating far outside their capabilities."

The specs of the Brute are as follows:

Started as: 2003 Rubicon
Axles: Dana 44
Engine: Stock 4.0L with ARB Snorkel
Lights: ARB 900 HID
Materials: Sheetmetal Bed with AEV fiber glass hardtop
Bed: Our custom bed is 6" long, overall width 59" (42" between wheelhouses)
Departure Angle: Better then a stock rubicon (With the 35" Goodyear under the bed)
Comfort: Seats can move back all the way and then recline two notches
Rocker Guards: Custom Protection based on our TJ Rocker Guards (the bed is separated from the cabin)
Suspension/Lift: Our tuned 4.5" in the front, and the Off Road Only AiRock in the rear

According to the Web site, although a price has not been established, AEV plans to offer this vehicle to any and all paying customers. They will either buy a new Wrangler for you (and include it in the price) and convert that, or you can purchase a new Wrangler yourself or provide them with a used Wrangler to use in the conversion.

Based on the sheer number of emails we've received regarding this conversion, it seems that the Brute caused quite a stir at the SEMA show. You can check out the complete specs and load of photos of the Brute at the AEV Web site.

Thanks to Richard Truesdell (autotronic@aol.com) for the photos.