AEV Brute Double Cab: Aftermarket Jeep Scrambler pickup
American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) will roll out its new four-door 2012 AEV Brute Double Cab at this year’s SEMA Show. Like the original Brute, which debuted at SEMA in 2002, the Brute Double Cab uses the newest JK Wrangler to deliver a powerful, unique four-door off-road machine. Thanks to the use of an optional carbon-fiber bed, the total vehicle weight can be only a little more than the Wrangler Unlimited.
The AEV Brute was developed independently of the Mopar R&D Lab.
“When we originally created the Brute, it appealed to off road enthusiasts looking for something different,” says AEV Founder and President Dave Harriton. “Now with the debut of the Brute Double Cab, we’re expanding the Brute series to a four-door platform that has everything people have come to expect from an AEV Brute, but with more interior room and the improved capabilities of the JK platform.
“The Brute Double Cab shares its DNA with the original Brute, but also draws inspiration from the Land Rover Defender 130, and was designed specifically for the expanding overland travel market. With seating for five and the storage provided by the fold flat rear seats, it makes for an ideal camping platform, whether it be a couple weeks through the Atacama desert or just a weekend trip with the family.”
The most popular request of Brute buyers was a four-door version. With the AEV Brute Double Cab, that request has been fulfilled.
The Brute Double Cab follows the same truck-conversion design principle as its predecessor. AEV starts with a Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited and stretches the chassis 23 inches for a final wheelbase of 139 inches. The overall vehicle length stands at 216 inches, a total increase of 30 inches, with a small frame extension at the rear to accommodate the pickup bed. The interior dimensions of the Brute Double Cab’s truck bed are 61”L x 60”W (44 inches between the wheel houses), offering plenty of haul space in a highly capable off-roader. The AEV 3.5" suspension is versatile for offroad use.
Harriton is quick to point out that the Brute Double Cab is not meant to be an alternative to a traditional pickup, but is designed to meet the needs of the overland market with more off road capability than a conventional four-door pickup and more cargo room and carrying capacity than a standard Jeep.
While Wrangler Unlimited and AEV Brute mainly share a common architecture, they do not share a common platform — key dimensions are different — making it impossible for, say, Jeep to build a similar vehicle on the Toledo production line.
There seems to also be a six-wheel Unlimited version, a Wild Boar Products effort. (Thanks, Mike LaLouette.)
AEV will offer the Brute Double Cab as a turn-key vehicle built in its Wixom, Michigan, facility, and expects a production release by mid-2012. The opportunity for the first orders will be given exclusively to current owners of AEV vehicles and to AEV’s authorized dealers, with orders opening to the public as production ramps up. For more information, you can call AEV at 248-926-0256.
AEV is headquartered in Missoula, Montana; it is currently a Tier 1 supplier to Chrysler, and makes front and rear bumpers, heat-reducing hoods, snorkels, wheels, suspensions, and Hemi conversion kits for the JK. The company has a 36,000 square foot facility in Detroit for conversions and distribution.