Jeep Farout Concept | 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel putting out 260 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque
With a 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel under the hood putting out 260 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, the Jeep Farout Concept is an impressive and capable adventure machine. Jeep was kind enough to hand us the keys to this one-off concept truck and say “go have fun.” And, that’s what we did!
Adventure Was Calling
It was just a matter of connecting the dots. The Farout concept was collecting dust in a Michigan warehouse since its online debut in 2020 and 2021 Easter Jeep Safari and The SEMA Show appearances. I needed an overland style vehicle for an adventure from Las Vegas, across the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and finally to Overland Expo West 2022 in Flagstaff. Lucky for me, the good people at Jeep not only make incredibly cool off-road and overland concept vehicles, but also build them to actually work as intended. Pair that with a good relationship with the brand where I’ve driven many concepts and pre-production vehicles, without issue, and you have the recipe for some good times.
What other brand hands the keys to a concept car to a journalist unchaperoned? The answer is little to none. This is especially true knowing it is going to be lived out of for a week and hundreds of miles will be added to the odometer, many of those miles off-road. Jeep is a rare company that truly lives and breaths off-road adventure.
Farout Jeep Truck
The name ‘Farout’ comes from the impressive range that the EcoDiesel is able to provide this Jeep truck to get really far out there into the wilderness. With a 18.3-gallon fuel tank and impressive fuel sipping tendencies, this truck can see upwards of 300 miles of range. In my very mixed use testing, fully loaded down with gear, AC blasting the whole time, and my lead right foot, I managed to get an average of about 17 mpg.
Concept Truck Adventures
After picking up this shiny beauty from the Las Vegas airport valet with only 1,500 miles on the clock, I was a bit nervous to undertake the big off-road adventure I was embarking on. I didn’t want to be the guy to scratch the perfect paint job or add the scratches to the skid plates. But, Jeep said go adventure, and I wasn’t going to say no.
While I lived on the road full-time for about 7 years in diesel 4×4 overland vehicles traversing North America, I have never had the chance to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I’d spent plenty of time on the South Rim, and even self-support kayaked down the Canyon, but the North Rim had eluded me.
North Rim
I’ve always known this area was a worthy overland bucket-list destination, and it did not disappoint. I was able to spend 3 days of my long week with the Farout exploring and camping with a great group of friends.
We traversed a range of desert and mountainous trails, including everything from tight two-track to fast dusty gravel. The highlight, and goal each day, was setting up camp along the panoramic cliff edge of the Canyon.
Farout Capability
Besides the range, the sheer capability on and off-road of this Jeep truck concept impressed. With the 37-inch Falken mud-terrains aired down and the sway bar disconnected this truck just ate up off-road miles with ease. Fox shocks and a 2-inch JPP lift ensured a smooth ride and full articulation.
While I had selectable lockers and a trusty Warn winch at my disposal, I was happy to not have to put them to work on this trip. Even with some long days on the trails and late night arrivals at camp over some challenging terrain, I never had the remote thought that I might get stuck.
Big IPF driving lights on the modified front Rubicon bumper helped keep me on track and out of trouble when the sun went down. Rolling up to camp on a cliff edge in the pitch dark can be stressful, but the Farout Concept instilled confidence and was equipped with the right tools for the job.
Farout Camp Out
Once at our cliff edge camping spot each night, I’d reach into the National Luna fridge and crack a cold craft brew before setting up camp. Not that camp setup involved a whole lot, as all it really took was flipping open the AT Overland Habitat camper topper. A process that literally takes less than 2-minutes.
I’d then pull out a few of the Dometic GO camp furniture pieces I was testing, turn off my headlamp, and try to get my eyes to adjust to the extreme darkness of this remote place. The stars were breathtaking. While I had an onboard dual-burner stove at my disposal, I never ended up firing it up, as our crew did group meals around an iKamper Disco Series grille each day.
After a good night’s sleep in the AT Habitat camper, hovering within a few feet of a cliff edge with the mighty Colorado River raging a few thousand feet below, the sunrise peeking over the mountain tops on the South Rim of the Canyon brought warmth back to the chilly morning air.
After crawling out of bed, soaking in some sun, and making a cup of tea, the shade under the Habitat topper was a welcome refuge from the quickly heating desert air. The built in shade from the tent system also meant I didn’t need to waste time deploying the truck’s twin Eezi-Awn awnings.
Details Matter
Sure this is just a one-off concept truck, but it’s also one that just about anyone could have built, with enough money and creativity anyway. It was all the useful details that impressed me most, as most concepts are all show and no go. The Farout is a proper overland adventure machine, as well as a shiny show truck.
We already went over all the capabilities upgrades that I put to the test on this adventure, but let’s talk about this truck’s bling. The Farout has a custom ‘Earl’ paint job, accented by chartreuse and black accents. Inside the cab is dark smoke blue leather with orange contrast stitching, along with complimentary plaid flannel seat inserts. The truck bed is covered in orange bedliner, and fitted with all teak wood trim and lots of LED mood lighting. The wood trim is even carried over to the K9 roof rack atop the cab.
Concept Experience
Now for the part you should have seen coming. This concept in use was far from flawless. After all, it was created from a pile of preproduction OEM and aftermarket parts, on a pre-production vehicle. Its primary mission is life is also to look good and attract eyeballs, not necessary go on grand overland adventures in harsh terrain.
The feature, or lack there of, that saddened me the most was appropriate fenders to contain the meaty M/T tires, which resulted in rock chips in the shiny paint. The most annoying feature on this concept is the wood on the roof rack, which whistles horribly when traveling at any real speed. The interface between the tailgate and the camper also wasn’t sealed properly, which meant lots of dust found its way into the truck bed.
In the end, all of these gripes are meaningless and just added flavor to my experience with this very cool vehicle. They’re also all super easy to fix, with many attended to just after I handed the keys back to Jeep.
I ended up adding over 800 miles of adventure to the odometer on the Farout Concept, miles that I won’t soon forget.
(A massive thanks has to be extended to Jeep, Dometic, onX Off-Road, and WH1969 PR for helping me check off a bucket list overland destination, in high style I might add.)
2021 Jeep Farout Concept
Appearance Upgrades: Earl Paint w/Chartreuse Accents, Dark Smoke Blue Leather w/Orange Accent Stitching & Plaid Flannel Seat Inserts, Orange Bedliner, Wood Truck Bed Flooring & Accents w/Custom Seat & Fridge Cabinet
Off-Road Upgrades: JPP 2” Lift w/Fox Shocks, JPP 17” Matte Charcoal Wheels w/37” Falken Wildpeak M/T Tires (37×12.5×17), Custom Gladiator Rubicon Front Bumper w/Warn Zeon 12s Winch & IPF Off-Road Driving Lights, Custom Front & Rear Rock Rails, Maxtrax, Roll Bar Grab Handles
Overland Upgrades: Custom AT Overland Habitat Camper Topper, Eezi-Awn K9 Roof Rack, 2 Eezi-Awn Series 2000 2.5m Awnings, National Luna 12V Fridge/Freezer on Slide w/Cook Partner Stove, RAM Accessory Rail w/Phone Holder
