1966 Jeep Gladiator Restomod Hides A 707-HP Hemi Under The Hood

Restomods are all the rage these days and it seems that this trend isn’t going away anytime soon. Vigilante 4x4, a Jeep tuning company, now presents a new addition to the restomod segment in the form of a fully rebuilt and modernized vintage Jeep Gladiator – and we have to admit it looks brilliant and offers some serious performance capabilities.

The truck you see depicted in the gallery below is a two-door 1966 Gladiator finished in Empire Blue on the outside with a cream-white interior with a mix of tan leather and Alcantara. The best part is that the classic design, both inside and out, is kept in its original form with all the original Jeep badging, logos, and emblems now featuring new meanings with the same vintage styling.

The most interesting part is under the hood, though. Vigilante 4x4 offers multiple powertrain options with the range-topping one being a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi engine good for 707 horsepower. If this sounds too scary for your taste, there’s also a 6.4-liter SRT-8 Hemi mill with 485 horsepower. The power is channeled to all four wheels through either a six-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic.

The company doesn’t list performance numbers for the Gladiator restomod but says it has installed a new four-link modern suspension with Eibach coil springs and Fox 2.0 dampers to improve handling and overall driveability. Stopping power now comes from six-piston Baer calipers, hiding behind 17-inch wheels. 

The entire process of building the 1966 Gladiator restomod started with a full 3D scan of the existing vehicle’s body to validate fitment over Vigilante 4x4’s new platform. The body was then taken off and stripped down completely, and each part underwent sandblasting and detailed preparation for restoration. 

The tuning company says the new 1966 Gladiator restomod has a starting price of $295,000. The final price depends on the customer’s specifications and can go up significantly from the base point.