Viper-Powered Jeep Restomod Packs Style, Serious Speed
Restomods are more popular now than they ever have been. Some builds are as simple as taking an old car, swapping in a modern V-8 crate engine, beefing up the brakes and suspension, adding a few creature comforts to the interior, and calling it a day. The restomodded Jeeps coming out of Texas-based Vigilante are much, much more than that. Their latest creation is a 1979 Jeep Cherokee S on top with a proprietary chassis and a Viper V-10 underneath. “I am proud to say that we have built the fastest vintage Jeep in the world,” says Vigilante founder Daniel van Doveren of the project.
Founded in 2021 in the Texas Hill Country by husband and wife duo Daniel and Rachel van Doveren, Vigilante has quickly become the go-to place for a thoroughly reworked, high-end, detail-oriented build for your vintage Jeep, especially the SJ-platform Jeeps like the original Cherokee, Wagoneer, and Gladiator/J-Series pickups. Vigilante Jeeps typically use a Mopar 392-cid Hemi or Hellcat crate engines, but this latest uses a 9.0-liter V-10 from a Viper. And there’s a lot more to it than the engine.
First, Vigilante stripped the body of the Cherokee down to bare metal and 3D scanned it to ensure no modifications were necessary. Then, they fitted it to their own proprietary chassis. The V-10 mates to a six-speed manual, breathes through stainless exhaust manifolds and a Borla dual in-out muffler, and powers all four wheels via an Atlas-II transfer case and Dana44/Dana 60 axles. Four-link Eibach coil suspension and Fox Racing shocks absorb the bumps. Six-piston brakes do the stopping, and hide behind Vigilante’s signature machined wheels, which resemble the originals but are of a larger size.
They then finished the Jeep in a two-tone Frosted Glass Blue and Stratus White scheme with a tribal stripe down the side. Subtle Vigilante badges on the mirrors and grille adorn the body, while the interior features original Levis Denim interior fabric along with Moore & Giles leather. Modern climate control tech and a Bluetooth-compatible are hidden and integrate with the original controls for both.
Vigilante quotes 825 horsepower and 750 lb-ft for the Viper-powered monster, which is even more astonishing when you consider that the original ’79 Cherokee S never got more than 175 hp from its 360-cid V-8.
The V-10 Cherokee sure does look exciting, but so far it is just a one-off commission, and it has been sold. Vigilante would surely craft you another one, but it won’t be cheap. Their builds start at $295,000, and go up from there.
Evokes Bill Harrah’s Jerraris, two Jeep Wagoneers he engine swapped Ferrari engines into. His didn’t have 825hp, though, and I’m sure there is much less consternation about using a Viper engine.
Saw one of those Harrah wagoneers back in the day at the museum in Reno.
1980 or so when it was in its hayday
Yep, I remember he had tiny windshield wipers for the headlights 😉
Amazing build. It seems like it has a bulletproof drivetrain, so, here’s my question: does it smoke all 4 tires, like Ken Block or Tommy Ivo?
A 300 thousand dollar Jeep. No thanks. It seems “common sense and reason” have left the building. Then, I suppose the market for these is pretty small indeed.
What true car person has “common sense and reason”? If we did we’d all drive Camrys and Accords.
Do my eyes deceive me or is the front differential more or less under the oil pan? Is that why it’s jacked up so ridiculously, impractically and unnecessarily high? Also, 9 liters? 550ci? Is that really necessary? Or usable/beneficial? And to what end? Showing off? The venn diagram of people who can afford this car and people who can get in and out of it without a ladder is a pretty small population.
The real question is: How fast would you like to be going when you die? And in this thing I can guarantee you’ll be upside down as well.
Sounds like someone is being Debbie Downer. I think this truck is cool, although I think the 392 Hemi automatic combination would be better. Either way, looks great to me.
I don’t think John D is debating how cool it looks, and his comment on the undercarriage photo does look like the diff would pop the oil pan, just going over a modest speed bump.
I don’t have the impression anyone spending over a quarter-million, to own this beautifully-executed resto-mod, will be doing any serious A.) rock-crawling, or B.) hill-climbing, or C.) drag-racing, so, my question is: what will anyone actually do with over 200 HP per wheel, besides bragging rights?
Does nobody remember the zz572 Jeep cj7? Pretty sure it would still hold the fastest Jeep record if our side by side.
It’s a beautiful color. I’d spend my $300k somewhere else.