Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 looks docile at Brighton Beach Park, but 6.4-liter V8 lurks with 470 horsepower. Photo by John Gilbert.

When you’re cruising along on a freeway and you see in the traffic ahead a Jeep Wrangler, your knee-jerk reaction is to step on the gas and get past this off-roader who could potentially clock your path on the highway.

But you might want to temper your aggressive reaction with a bit of caution. That Jeep Wrangler might have more to its name, such as Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition.

That’s a mouthful, but it indicates that America’s favorite off-road “toy” is not a toy at all, but a high-dollar hot rod that can go rock-climbing or take on the bluffs of Moab, Utah, with ease, while it also can turn highways and urban driving into its expanded playground.

The “392” in its name stands for the Hemi engine lurking under that hood, with its meaningful air-scoop on top. 

It is a 6.4-liter V8 — the same one they stuff into the hot Chargers, Challengers, big pickups and Durangos. It has 470 horsepower and a matching 470 foot-pounds of torque to indicate you can do your off-roading in record time.

On the highway, though, it will go 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, and if you take it to a drag-strip, it will cover the quarter-mile in 13 seconds. Try that against your bracket-racing buddies!

The nickname “Final Edition” has meaning, too, because this vehicle was built as a specialty hot performer by the Stellantis SVT (Special Vehicle Team) as a 2024 model, but it met with such an enthusiastic audience that Jeep decided to keep it around and keep producing it as a 2025. 

And who knows? As car companies drop their sedans and performance cars, Stellantis seems to keep the toy department open and thriving.

In total, this Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 Final Edition is really a Swiss Army Knife for those who want to play off road but on road, too. The 8-speed automatic transmission works smoothly, and the ultra heavy-duty suspension is actually comfortably compliant on the highway, where you sit in Nappa leather luxury in very supportive bucket seats in the front two spots of the 4-door Wrangler. 

And driving is an unexpected pleasure.

With the enlarged platform wider than its siblings, the monstrous 35-inch wheel and tire assembly leaves you with 11.6 inches of ground clearance, with skid plates running to protect all the mechanical stuff underneath if you get too crazy off-road.

Jeeps come in all shapes and sizes these days, but this is the grand-daddy of all Wranglers, with the latest Dana 44 axles, making sure everything is held stable and proper. If you turn off the road at this year’s outrageous monsoon season dosages, it will drive through 34.5 inches of water.

Naturally it has all the contemporary safety items like rear camera for backing up, and lane-change alerts and warnings. So it allows you to maneuver safely and with great agility on the highways and streets everywhere.

But all Jeep Wranglers will do that, even those with little 4-cylinder engines, so what extra do you get for the steep price tag? And it is steep, believe me. 

The base price for the vehicle I had for a week-long test was $91,545, and as tested it came to $108,475.

That means there’s more to it than the usual Selec-Trac full-time 4-wheel drive, or the optional (4595) Silver Zynith exterior paint. 

In the well-appointed interior, you get shift paddles to    help you in the right power range, 8-way power for both front buckets, an Alpine Premium audio that fills the interior with sound, and you get bronze tow-hooks in front, as well as a unique factory-installed winch.

This winch looks like it’s sticking its tongue out at other vehicles as it hangs there out the center of the front utility bars. That could come in handy if you had to yank your neighbor out of a snow-filled ditch — if we have a winter with snow-filled ditches, that is. 

If you were at some place looking up at a solid cliff of rock, presumably you could hook it onto something on top and help pull you and your Jeep up.

When you walk around to the rear, you can fold down the tailgate to reveal some storage space, and you might be surprised to see a dial on the right side of the opening, which is an indicator for a built-in air compressor.

Also, the tailgate stops and rests solidly level, and extends back to perform all the duties of a utility or picnic table. Very handy, and clever packaging.

The test Jeep will tow 3,500 pounds of trailer, as well.

Is there a drawback to a Jeep that costs $108,475, even if it is world’s fastest Jeep Wrangler? 

Well, of course. Aside from that price tag, you can expect this Rubicon Final Edition 392 to live up to the old hot-rodders cliche — it will pass everything on the road except gas stations! 

The EPA estimates show it will get between 13 and 16 miles per gallon, and driving up and down the hillsides of Duluth gave up something near the lower end of that range. Getting 12 miles per gallon and needing premium to make sure your big Hemi runs right means an investment that lives on after your new-vehicle loan.