Gear up: Limited edition Jeep coming for Daytona's Jeep Beach Week event

DAYTONA BEACH — Since its debut in 2003, the annual all-volunteer-run Jeep Beach rally here has steadily grown, both in attendance, scope and number of days it is held.

In recognition of the event's growing significance among Jeep enthusiasts, Stellantis, the automaker of the Jeep line of off-road sport utility vehicles, announced that it will produce a limited edition "Jeep Beach"-branded model in time for this year's festivities, April 24-May 1.

Upon learning the news, Charlene Greer, chair of the volunteer group that organizes the annual Jeep Beach event, said, "I squealed loudly."

Greer said she and Randy Dye, owner of Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, were informed via a phone call from a Stellantis official.

"It is historical. It's never been done before where there has been an (all-volunteer) organization such as ours to have a special edition (Jeep) named after our event," she said.

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Automaker celebrates group's 'passion'

Jeep Beach began as a three-day weekend event, mostly in Daytona Beach. It now takes place throughout Volusia County over nine days. Last year, it drew more than 200,000 people and more than 20,000 Jeep vehicles from throughout the country as well as six other countries.

And officials at the automaker Stellantis took notice.

Jim Morrison, the Stellantis vice president who heads the Jeep brand-North American division, said in a news release that, "Along with Easter Jeep Safari in Moab (Utah) each year, Jeep Beach week in Daytona Beach, Florida, is one of the largest Jeep vehicle events in the country. We listen to our customers, so we are celebrating their passion for beach-ready vehicles during this multi-day event with the Wrangler High Tide and Jeep Beach special editions, as well as introducing our newest high-impact High Velocity yellow exterior color."

Stellantis will produce a total of 500 Jeep Beach-branded Jeeps. The manufacturer's suggested retail price will be $49,240, not counting a $1,595 destination charge.

Each vehicle will come with special Jeep Beach hood decals and will be powered by a 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission. The vehicles will also feature 35-inch BF Goodrich T/A KO2 tires on 17-inch-by-8-inch beadlock-capable wheels, a 4.56 rear axle ratio, a 1.5-inch factory suspension lift with uniquely tuned shocks, hinge-gate reinforcement, jack spacer and tire relocation kit by Mopar and wheel flare extensions.

The Jeep Beach edition Wrangler will also feature a body-color hardtop, LED headlamps and fog lamps, rock rails, a Sunrider Fliptop for Hard Top, a Gorilla Glass windshield, sand/slush mats, and High Tide hood decals.

The special edition vehicle will be available in five different colors: High Velocity yellow, Hydro Blue, Black, Bright White, and StingGray.

The Jeep Beach group will hold a drawing on its website, jeepbeach.com, to give away one of the new 2022 Jeep Beach edition Jeep Wranglers. Digital tickets to take part in the drawing will begin to be made available on the website either April 16 or 17 for a suggested donation of $50 each, said Greer. The tickets can be obtained up until Saturday, April 30, or until 7,500 tickets have been given out. The winner will be announced April 30 at the end of that day's main Jeep Beach event.

Organizers formed as a nonprofit in 2018

Jeep Beach is an event that for many years was put on by the Mid-Florida Jeep Club.

"We were excited when we went over 1,000 registered participants in 2011," said DeLand resident Matt Gurnow, a member of the Mid-Florida Jeep Club who also serves as co-chair of Jeep Beach Inc. "We knew it was growing. Becoming a registered participant let them drive their Jeep on to the in-field at Daytona International Speedway. 2011 was my first year as a volunteer."

In 2017, the event was turned over to a new group of volunteers led by Greer which became "Jeep Beach Incorporated." The group became an official 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2018.

In addition to putting on events for Jeep enthusiasts, the group raises donations for local charities, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia & Flagler Counties, the NASCAR Foundation and The Childhood Cancer Foundation.

To date, Jeep Beach Inc. has raised and given away $2.5 million to local charities, including a record $500,000 in 2021.

Greer said the group hopes to raise even more donations this year as well as draw its biggest turnout ever for this year's Jeep Beach event.

"We're just seeing it grow, grow, grow," she said of the event. Stellantis's decision to produce a special Jeep Beach edition of the Jeep Wrangler underscores the reputation that the event is gaining within the industry, she added.

Special edition Jeeps expected to sell out quickly

Dye said he expects to be able to place orders for Jeep Beach edition models by the end of February. "I suspect that we'll be sold out quickly," he said, adding that the limited edition Jeeps will likely be made available to purchase from Jeep dealers throughout the Southeastern United States.

Given the extremely limited number of vehicles the automaker will be producing, Dye said it is doubtful that his dealership would get any in stock that people could walk into his showroom to look at first before deciding to buy one.

"We can certainly put people on a waiting list and hustle to put their orders in," he said.

Greer said she began lobbying Dye to ask Stellantis to produce a limited edition Jeep Beach-branded Wrangler five years ago. She said she "felt that Jeep Beach is a strong representation of all the things that make Jeep such an iconic brand. And we have not because we ask not, so I asked.

"To be able to represent everything that is so iconic and all-American as Jeep, that to me is just everything."

For more information about this year's 19th annual Jeep Beach event, visit jeepbeach.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Jeep Beach: Automaker creates special-edition SUV for Daytona event