2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition Review: HEMI's Last Stand Is A Costly Howl

The days of big displacement gas engines are undoubtedly numbered, as is production of the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition. Just 3,700 of these V8 SRT HEMI powered trucks will be built — 3,300 of which are earmarked for the U.S. — as a gasoline wake of sorts for those who like it old-school. Assuming, that is, they have the budget for what's one of the most expensive models in the Jeep showroom.

A regular four-door 2024 Wrangler starts at under $37k. By the time you reach this tricked-out truck, however, you're looking at $100,590 (plus $1,895 destination). With extras, this particular example crested $108k all-in. That's a whole lot of cash to be one of the last at the party.

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Hopefully, 2024 Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition buyers didn't purchase their SUVs with absolute exclusivity in mind, however. Irony of ironies, demand for the potent truck has prompted Jeep to retroactively make it the penultimate Final Edition. Now, there'll be a model year 2025 run, total build number currently unknown. Stellantis insists it'll be the last hurrah, if you believe it.

As you'd expect, the Final Edition takes the capable Wrangler Rubicon 392 as its starting point. That's already a well-equipped, $92,140 truck, but the key is its engine. The same growling, gurgling 6.4-liter V8 SRT HEMI as has given Charger and Challenger drivers such smiles over the years, is here tuned for 470 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque.

That's a far cry from the heady figures we've seen in Hellcats, but it's a considerable step up from the 285 horses in the V6-powered Wrangler Rubicon. It's paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and permanent four-wheel drive, and rated to tow up to 3,500 pounds (the same, incidentally, as that V6 Rubicon).

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It's a four-door only — a shame, actually, as I think a two-door version would be even more charming — but Jeep throws a bucketload of extras on to help justify the sticker. Some for functionality, and some just because they make this Wrangler look mighty cool.

The Earl clear-coat paint ($595) with its contrast black and gold hood and vent decals is a handsome combo, and sets off the beefy 17 x 8 inch bronze deadlock-capable wheels nicely. Those rims are shod in 35-inch BF Goodrich All-Terrain rubber, nice and grippy to go with the Rubicon 392 Final Edition's legit off-road credentials.

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Indeed, while you might cringe at getting mud on those decals, you can't really question the Wrangler's capabilities in the rough stuff. As well as the 2.72:1 Selec-Trac 4WD, there's a heavy-duty Dana 44 front axle and M220 wide full-floating rear axle with a 4.56 ratio, plus Tru-Lok front and rear.

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It's all straightforward to monitor and control, too. There's a dedicated shifter to move between 4H Auto, 4H Part-Time, N, and 4L, along with buttons and toggles to lock the diffs, enter Off Road+ mode, and disconnect the sway bar. Easy-to-understand graphics in the infotainment's dedicated Off Road Pages show what's enabled and what isn't, as well as metrics like pitch, roll, altitude, and location. You can also log trail drives there.

Most of the Jeep's time will undoubtedly be spent on asphalt, however, and there it's a mixture of old-school Wrangler and giggle-inducing loudness. Those who love the SUV's distinctive driving dynamics (or, conversely, those who hate them, a group with roughly equal passion) will find the usual bouncy ride and somewhat dithering steering present and correct. At least the Sky One-Touch Power-Top ($3,995) provides more noise isolation than cheaper soft tops, a welcome boon on highways.

You can render it a little less effective, mind, by hitting the Performance Exhaust button and awakening the Wrangler's throatiest bellow. This still isn't an especially quiet SUV with it turned off, particularly if you bury your right foot and get into the upper echelons of engine speed, when the active valves are thrown open. Thumbing that dedicated button, though, stops the Jeep from tempering itself at all, and the result sounds, well, incredible.

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Neighborhood-disturbing, certainly, and not for those who prefer subtlety, but then again this is not the Wrangler for such a crowd. It is — I'm not entirely proud to admit — fairly addictive in practice, encouraging more profligate driving (highway on-ramps are particularly good for this) just to hear the HEMI do its lovely thing.

With a 0-60 mph time in the mid-four-seconds, the Rubicon 392 combines being fast with being loud. Peak horsepower doesn't arrive until 6,000 rpm, another reason to be more liberal with your foot's weight. The combination of the power curve and the eight-speed's gearing means that pull from a standing start is less jumpy than you might expect it to be, too.

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That is, undoubtedly, pretty useful if you're taking the Wrangler into the sort of beyond-urban environments that Jeep likes to do its product photography in. There, precision control is the key, and while peak torque doesn't land until 4,300 rpm, the majority is unlocked early on. Things like heavy-duty Mopar rock sliders, rock-protection sills, and other burlier protection also lend confidence. The standard Warn winch — which left me waiting on tenterhooks all week for an opportunity to rescue someone — and sturdy bronze tow-hooks also underscore the ready-for-anything ethos.

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Slam on the gas when on asphalt, though, and as well as being able to make those big BF Goodrich wheels chirp even in the bone dry, the Rubicon 392 heads for the horizon with alacrity. Hitting the brakes introduces a less-welcome reminder of little things like physics: I wish Jeep had put a little more effort into how reassuring it feels slowing down. This is, after all, a nearly 5,300-pound SUV. Still, something so upright going so fast is borderline magical.

At the same time, so much of this six-figure special edition feels like, well, any old sub-$40k Wrangler. The steering wheel may be leather-wrapped, but the switchgear and column stalks are the usual sturdy-but-hardly-premium plastic. The same goes for the HVAC controls, the drivetrain buttons, and the majority of the other cabin trim.

The driver gets the usual, diminutive 7-inch screen sandwiched between the regular analog gauges, and while Jeep's latest infotainment system — here presented on a 12.3-inch touchscreen — is slick and easy to use, it's no different in Rubicon 392 Final Edition form to what you'd tap and swipe on a cheaper Wrangler trim.

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Jeep throws some fancier trim pieces in, and the power-adjustable seats are wrapped in leather with custom embroidery, but it's clear where the extra spend has gone (and it's not really in creature comforts). Budget for thirst, too: Jeep says to expect 13 mpg in the city, 16 mpg on the highway, and 14 mpg combined, and the Rubicon 392 demands premium gas. My own, mixed driving bested that combined figure by six-tenths, which hardly seems a thing worth boasting about. We're far from Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid territory, here.

It's hard to imagine Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition owners being too concerned about fuel economy, however. I suspect they also know exactly what they're getting in terms of ride refinement, and cabin trim, and all the other foibles which you either think makes a Jeep so endearing or so infuriating.

If it's speed you're mainly concerned with, the turbocharged V6 that Ford drops into the Bronco Raptor certainly doesn't leave the SUV slow (and it's impressively capable off-road, too). You don't get that V8 soundtrack with it, mind, and of course there's the fact that any self-respecting Wrangler fan probably wouldn't be seen dead at their local Ford dealership.

Like everything, the auto world is made up of shades of gray, not black and white. Everyone I discussed the Rubicon 392 Final Edition with scoffed at the idea of this near-$110k SUV, and yet Jeep has clearly found sufficient V8-lovers to justify a second production run for 2025. For most of us, the idea of spending Porsche Cayenne money on a Wrangler is absurd. Luckily for Jeep, rarity as much as a ridiculous exhaust system are what play in this short-lived flagship's favor.