Stellantis has spent the last few years steadily killing off its North American brands’ big Hemi V8 in pretty much every car it once found a home in. The Dodge Challenger and Charger are both gone, replaced by a new-gen Charger that’s powered by either a turbo straight-six or electricity. The Chrysler 300 died late last year, and the Dodge Durango will soon follow.
Even the Jeep Wrangler, where the Hemi briefly found a home in its naturally aspirated, 6.4-litre ‘392’ form, was preparing to wave goodbye to the engine with a 392 Final Edition earlier this year. Except it turns out the Final Edition wasn’t that final after all.
Jeep has announced that, due to demand, the 392 Final Edition will return for 2025, giving it at least a year more on sale than originally planned. It means the 6.4-litre, 470bhp V8 will live on in perhaps the unlikeliest of homes – a big, boxy 4×4.
2025 Jeep Wrangler 392 Final Edition – rear
As before, the 392 Final Edition will crack 60mph in 4.5 seconds and run a 13-second quarter-mile, which is frankly hilarious in a high-riding off-roader shaped like a housebrick. It’s also got plenty of off-roading goodies, including 35-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain tyres, a Warn winch with a 3.6-tonne capacity and a half-inch suspension lift over measly, non-V8 Wranglers.
Of course, anyone who shelled out a lot of money (around £78,500, before hefty dealer markups) for the 2024 (not-so) Final Edition likely won’t be too happy, but hey, owners of the 2025 version won’t get the exclusive 83-piece toolkit that they did. Swings and roundabouts, and all that.
Jeep Wrangler 392 Final Edition – 2024 model
It’s not the first time the artist formerly known as FCA has done something like this – it previously brought back the Dodge Durango Hellcat for 2023, after promising it would be a one-and-done deal for the 2021 model year, prompting lawsuits from owners of the original.
Hopefully, the knowledge that the Hemi is sticking around longer than expected will placate people this time around, although as before, there’s basically no chance of this V8-powered monster sitting alongside Avenger EVs in European Jeep showrooms. In the States, though, it’ll go on sale towards the end of this year.
