1988 Jeep Grand Wagoneer gets 807-hp Hellcat V8 and supercar-like price

Ronan Glon
·2 min read


See Full Image Gallery >>

As the electric Jeep Wagoneer S was making its debut, Texas-based Vigilante was busy taking the nameplate in a completely different direction. It gave the original Grand Wagoneer the resto-mod treatment with a modern suspension, huge brakes, and an 807-horsepower V8.

The company started with a 1988 model and left the exterior largely stock. Finished in an eye-catching shade of red, the SUV wears the famous wood-look paneling, a hood ornament, and a generous serving of bright exterior trim. The wheels look factory but they're not: They're 17-inch units shaped just like the 15-inch alloys that Jeep made standard, and they're wrapped by beefy BF Goodrich all-terrain tires.

You won't find much that still carries a Jeep part number under the body: The Grand Wagoneer rides on an updated frame developed in-house by Vigilante. The brand then installed the same 6.2-liter supercharged V8 that Dodge put in the Challenger Hellcat Redeye. It makes 807 horsepower and 717 pound-feet of torque in this application, and it spins the four wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission. For context, a stock 1988 Grand Wagoneer uses a 5.9-liter V8 tuned to 144 horsepower and bolted to a three-speed automatic transmission.




Vigilante hasn't published performance figures, but its Grand Wagoneer should be able to haul, well ... just about anything. It should handle better than stock, too, thanks to a four-link Eibach coil suspension and Fox Racing shocks, while six-piston brakes keep the Hemi in check.

Accessed via hidden power-operated steps, the interior features modern vintage-looking gauges, an updated climate control system, and sound-deadening material. The seats were restored with new springs, foam, and padding and upholstered with a blend of Moores & Giles leather and corduroy fabric. Nearly every part of the cabin has been modified to some extent, yet it manages to look perfectly old-school.

Bringing a classic into the modern era is never cheap, and Vigilante is selling the Hellcat-powered Grand Wagoneer for $385,000. It's also open to working with customers to design a resto-modded Grand Wagoneer from scratch. For that kind of money, you can buy a supercar — say, a Maserati MC20 Cielo — and have enough left over to build a garage to keep it in. But that's not always the point, is it? Companies like Icon and Singer have proved time and again that there's enough demand for an old-looking classic car to make a business case out of it.

You Might Also Like

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Automakers hit 'significant storm,' as buyers reject lofty prices at time of huge capital outlays

    DETROIT (AP) — Investors are punishing automakers' stocks this week after second-quarter earnings reports exposed industrywide issues of slowing sales and high prices, just as the companies are having to spend huge sums to make new electric and gas vehicles.

  • I Have Driven Over 250 Car Models: These Are the 3 Best and Worst for Your Money

    With so many models and options on the market, choosing the right car for your money isn't easy. The wrong choice leaves you trapped in a money pit, draining your finances with repair costs, poor gas...

  • Ferry operator's ban on recalled EVs highlights need for more safety rules, experts say

    A decision by an Ontario ferry operator to ban recalled Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrids from its boats has highlighted the potential fire risk posed by electric vehicles — and some experts say governments and businesses need to do more to establish safety standards for their use and storage.The risk of EV fires appears to be low, and vehicle makers have been responsive to the problems that have emerged, said George Iny, the president of the Automobile Protection Association.But EV fires, when

  • Cyclist dead after Yorkville collision with dump truck driver

    A cyclist is dead after she was struck by a dump truck driver in Yorkville Thursday morning, Toronto police say.The crash happened around 8:48 a.m. in the area of Bloor Street W. and Avenue Road, Acting Duty Insp. Jason Bartlett told reporters at the scene.The cyclist was going west in the Bloor bike lane when she exited the lane and continued on in the same direction, he said."At that same time, a dump truck that was also travelling westbound struck that cyclist and they were pronounced decease

  • Toyota to build EV battery plant for Lexus cars, Nikkei reports

    TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Toyota Motor plans to build a battery plant for electric vehicles in the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka and supply its batteries to a factory that makes luxury Lexus brand cars, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday. The world's top-selling automaker would seek to make the island of Kyushu where Fukuoka is located a central part of its supply chain for battery-powered vehicles and an export base for Asia, the newspaper said. A Toyota spokesperson said the company was aware of the report, but that it was not something it had announced.

  • Nissan cuts output at top Japanese plant, sources say

    Nissan cut planned production by a third at its top Japanese plant this month, a move that will also see it slash output of a flagship crossover model, two people said, as it struggles with weak U.S. demand for its ageing line-up. The Japanese automaker on Thursday reported an almost complete wipe-out in April to June profit and cut its full-year outlook after it was forced to offer deep discounts in the U.S., highlighting the deepening risk it faces in its largest market. Unlike rivals Toyota and Honda, Nissan doesn't offer hybrid models in the U.S. and therefore hasn't benefitted from recent upswing in demand from U.S. consumers for hybrids as enthusiasm around EVs has cooled.

  • Both highways in Pismo Beach are about to face a month of traffic slowdowns. Here’s why

    A construction project will affect both Highways 1 and 101.

  • GM Arlington Assembly rolls out its 13 millionth vehicle: A $150,000 Cadillac Escalade-V

    Happy 70th birthday to the GM Arlington Assembly plant ... and all the North Texans who have worked there over the decades!

  • 7k-Mile 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS Available on Bring a Trailer

    Grab this super rare Porsche.

  • 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 packs twin-turbo, 1,064-hp V8

    The 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 is the ultimate performance 'vette, packing 1,064 horsepower thanks to a twin-turbocharged, flat-plane crank V8.

  • AP Explains: French train lines hit by 'malicious acts' disrupting traffic ahead of Olympics

    High-speed trains around France were hit by several “malicious acts”, heavily disrupting traffic on the day of the high-risk opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. The AP's Angela Charlton explains.

  • Driver dead after 2 vehicles collide in Mississauga

    A driver is dead after two vehicles collided in Mississauga on Wednesday, one hitting a hydro pole and catching fire, Peel police say.The collision happened near the intersection of McLaughlin Road and Britannia Road West. Police said they were called to the area at about 3:30 p.m.Const. Nikhil Chakravarthy, spokesperson for Peel Regional Police, told reporters that the driver of the vehicle that hit the pole was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver remained at the scene and is co-oper

  • GM's Cruise looks to start charging for robotaxi rides next year, Bloomberg News reports

    San Francisco, California-based Cruise has been working to recover from a setback caused by an accident last year, in which one of its robotaxis struck a pedestrian and dragged her 20 feet (6 meters). The company resumed operations in the U.S. with a small fleet of human-driven vehicles in Phoenix, Arizona in April, but its authority to provide passenger service in autonomous vehicles in California remains suspended. According to analysts and industry experts, the race to develop autonomous driving systems and robotaxis will be arduous, expensive and take years as the technology faces engineering and regulatory hurdles.

  • Man who killed mum in crash and fled scene jailed

    Leon Roberts is jailed for causing Sharna Burgin's death in Sheffield in February 2023.

  • Barges swept down raging river crash into bridge in Philippines

    A dramatic scene in Metro Manila, Philippines on Wednesday afternoon as several barges crashed into a bridge after being swept downstream by the raging Marikina River. Shocking footage captured the flat-bed vessels slamming into the bridge, with some getting stuck underneath and even sinking. Typhoon Gaemi has brought more intense monsoon rains to the region.

  • Toyota will replace engines in 100,000 recalled Tundras and Lexus LXs

    Toyota recalled about 102,000 units of the Tundra and the Lexus LX due to an engine problem. It will replace the engine in affected vehicles.

  • Nissan's Q1 profit plunges 99% as US discounts shred margins

    STORY: Nissan slashed its annual outlook Thursday after reporting a 99% plunge in first-quarter profits.That’s as deep discounting in the U.S. shredded the Japanese automaker’s margins. Nissan’s shares fell following the results, which were far short of analyst expectations.Operating profit for April-June was just $6.5 million.That was just a fraction of the roughly $1 billion profit predicted ahead of the results. It marks Nissan’s worst quarterly performance in more than three years.While global sales remained even year-on-year at 787,000 vehicles, the profit from those sales was hit by an increase in discounts and marketing costs. That’s as Nissan tried to ride out intense competition, particularly in the U.S. The automaker, which has struggled in the U.S., said sales there were also hurt by an aging portfolio and a market shift to hybrid vehicles. However, the firm's CEO told Reuters that Nissan plans to bolster sales with fresh models in the second half of the year. Despite this, investors will now likely worry about the car maker's outlook in the United States.That concern adds to Nissan’s woes in China, where it has seen tough competition from domestic rivals.Shares in the company tumbled around 11% at one point before finishing down 7% - their biggest one-day decline since February.

  • Carmichael man among 2 dead in Humboldt County plane crash near airport, officials say

    Gabriel Joshua Kulp, 49, of Grass Valley, and Thomias Edward Smith, 60, of Carmichael, died in a crash Tuesday.

  • Porsche Will Keep the Gas-Powered Cayenne Alive into the 2030s

    Porsche says the internal combustion Cayenne is sticking around. The automaker will continue development on the 3rd-gen SUV even after the electric 4th gen arrives.

  • French rail lines hit by “malicious acts” that cause disruptions on day of Olympics opening ceremony

    French national rail company SNCF said high-speed lines have been hit by several “malicious acts” that have heavily disrupted traffic on the day of the Olympics opening ceremony. Lines in the west, north and east of France were affected, SNCF announced.