The Ford Bronco has put new pressure on the Jeep Wrangler, giving the iconic Jeep nameplate some healthy competition. With customers having more choice than ever, aftermarket accessories are vital to enthusiast vehicles like these. Ford launched the Bronco with a plethora of accessories, and Jeep is continuing to add more all the time, and a new patent filing reveals a possible future product.
The filing with the US Patent and Trademark office is light on details, though the images reveal the goods – the off-roader with cut-out doors. These have an opening in the lower portion, and they lack side glass, opening the cabin to the outside. Ford teased something similar for the Bronco, but they never entered production, and don’t go thinking Jeep stole the idea from Ford’s folly. Jeep – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, not Stellantis – filed the patent back in 2017, and it presented the two-door 2018 JL wrangler with cut-out doors, too.
This isn’t confirmation that Jeep will actually produce these doors, as with any patent. It was filed over three years ago, though it’s just now being published, and Jeep offers no such product. In 2018, Jeep said that it had no plans to produce them. The patent also shows the cut-out doors on a four-door Wrangler, which is new. However, we will have to wait to see if Jeep offers any such product in the future.
Competition for crossovers and SUVs continues to heat up as more automakers wade into the off-road space, whether that’s offering full-fledged off-roaders or soft-roaders with extra cladding, a skid plate or two, and chunkier tires. Accessories are one way for an automaker to stand out from the competition, and as the Ford Bronco establishes itself in the market, we expect new accessories to arrive from both automakers. These cut-out doors are one good example of what we could see in the coming months and years.
Gallery: 2018 Jeep Wrangler
Source: US Patent And Trademark Office via The Drive
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