吉普CEO Mike Manley近日透露了下一代牧马人更多细节。虽然新一代牧马人更注重车身气动布局，但仍将继续保持方正造型。他表示：“在进行车身气动布局改进时要非常小心，但归根结底，无论怎么改，它必须一眼就能认出这是一辆牧马人。这对于车身气动布局的改进有很大限制”。从先前拍到的谍照看，新一代牧马人前风挡和前脸倾角更大，不过这两项改变并对车辆整体外观的影响很小，新车仍是传统的方砖造型。但Manley表示，新车重量将大幅降低，加上其他多项改进，它的燃油经济性将有显著提升。虽然新车重量降低，但不会采用全铝车身，只是它的车架更轻，更坚固，只是某些部件采用了铝制材料，而轻量化材料的应用不会对车身坚固性造成影响。新车仍将采用非承载式结构和坚固的前后轴。至于动力传动系统，新车将搭载柴油和四缸涡轮引擎并搭配八速自动变速器。可以肯定的是，新一代牧马人仍将保留其传统的硬汉风格，不会让车迷们失望。

 

Jeep CEO details the next Wrangler's push for efficiency

Jeep CEO Mike Manley's brief for the new Wrangler is a simple one – don't mess it up. But in that pursuit of keeping things proper, the affable Englishman has revealed that the brand is trying to walk a fine line while bringing its most iconic model into the 21st century.

 

That's most important on the car's exterior. Like other long-serving American vehicles, the Wrangler is defined by its image. But even with aerodynamics playing a bigger role on the JK's successor, Manley was adamant during a conversation with Automotive News that the boxiness will carry on.

 

"You have to be very careful with the aero of Wrangler, because at the end of the day, it needs to be recognizable as a Wrangler," Manley told AN. "To some extent that restricts you on some of the aero that you can do." Spy photos show a more rakish windshield and fascia, both key moves to lessen the aerodynamic impact of the Jeep's traditionally brick-like design.

 

"But with weight and a number of the changes that we've made, you're going to see that we've really pushed that vehicle forward in terms of its fuel economy."

 

The context of that last sentence points to a weight savings, something Automotive News backs up. While the Wrangler won't go all-aluminum, its frame is going to be lighter and stronger, and it will use aluminum for certain "hang-on" body parts. But this push for weight savings won't extend to the Wrangler's intangibles. It'll still ride on a body-on-frame architecture and feature solid axles at both ends, for example.

 

Combine Manley's comments and AN's reports with news that the Wrangler will use an eight-speed automatic and offer diesel and four-cylinder turbo power in its next generation, and it's clear Jeep is trying to make the biggest strides in decades without alienating its die-hard fans.