The extra dollars will bring Launch Edition owners a car with several unique fittings, like, 17-inch aluminum wheels, 33-inch tires, leather upholstery, and forged aluminum tailgate badge, among several other things.
The car is powered by the same 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine as on regular version of the Gladiator, developing 285 horsepower and 260 lb-ft. of torque.
All of the above is probably not enough to justify the $17,000 price difference, but Jeep upped the ante by giving all Launch Edition buyers the chance to win one-year’s salary of $100,000, as part of a competition backed by U.S. Army veteran Noah Galloway.
“There has been significant interest in the all-new Jeep Gladiator since it was first revealed late last year,” said in a statement Tim Kuniskis, Jeep main executive for North America.
“The response has inspired both us at the Jeep brand and U.S. Army veteran Noah Galloway. So, while the details are still to come, we plan to ‘pay it forward’ together in a special way with Noah in May during Military Appreciation Month.”
The Gladiator nameplate was born in the Willys Motors lineup in 1962 as a car based on the Jeep SJ Wagoneer. The nameplate was produced by subsequent companies – Kaiser-Jeep, American Motors and Chrysler – for the next 26 years, being discontinued in 1987.
