2020 Jeep Gladiator Launch Edition Sells Out In One Day
UPDATE 4/5/19: Jeep has announced that all 4190 Gladiator Launch Editions sold out on April 4th, which was the only day that the special truck would be available to order. Customers ordered the truck through a special "Gladiator Concierge" website that connected each buyer with a dealer.
The 2020 Jeep Gladiator Launch Edition is based on a fully loaded Gladiator Rubicon model.
Only 4190 of the Launch Edition will be produced, and they're available exclusively though a one-day preorder program on April 4, 2019, at Jeep.com.
Buyers will be qualified for exclusive entry into Jeep’s Find Your Freedom contest, where they can win $100,000.
Jeep's love for its hometown of Toledo, Ohio, is absolute, and the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Launch Edition is just the latest token of its affection. Available via a one-day, pre-order-only program scheduled for Thursday, April 4, the Gladiator Launch Edition will be limited to a production run of "just" 4190 units as a nod to the 419 area code of Toledo, where the Gladiator and Wrangler are assembled. The price? A a cool $62,310.
Jeep fans will point out that April 4 is also National Jeep 4x4 day, a day dedicated to the celebration of all the Jeep things with four-wheel drive, but there's another Toledo-centric calendar play in action. In an act of either kismet or shrewd demographic marketing, April 4 also happens to be the opening day for the Toledo Mud Hens AAA minor-league baseball team, an equally revered T-town institution that inspires similar acts of rabid devotion and irrational behavior. Throw in a two-for-one lunch deal at Tony Packo's, and the entire city would be in danger of imploding from the sheer amount of civic pride bubbling though its veins.
Arguably the most interesting aspect of ordering a 2020 Jeep Gladiator Launch Edition package is the opportunity it brings to later enter Jeep's "Find Your Freedom" contest. Entrants will be asked to submit a short video of themselves and their Gladiator Launch Edition doing Jeep things and expressing how they'd spend a year off from work. Entries will be judged by the Jeep brand and U.S. Army veteran and wounded warrior Noah Galloway, who will select the winner. The $100,000 grand prize-which Jeep refers to as "one year's salary"-is a symbolic permission slip to tell the bossman to take this job and shove it, and blow the cash Gladiatoring around without worry. (Additional details about the contest and entry information can be found by watching this video filmed at the Toledo Jeep complex.)
Based on a full-boat Rubicon, the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Launch Edition is offered in Black, Bright White, Billet Silver Metallic, Firecracker Red, and Granite Crystal Metallic, with a body-color hard top and an exclusive forged-aluminum tailgate badge as standard. Fender flares shroud 17-inch Mid Gloss Black aluminum wheels wrapped in 33-inch Falken Wildpeak All-Terrain tires. Interior touches include a wrapped instrument panel in Monaco Silver and black leather seats with red accent stitching.
Given its well-optioned Rubicon bones, the Launch Edition will also come with LED head- and taillights, an 8.4-inch touchscreen, a nine-speaker Alpine premium sound system, keyless entry, a front-facing TrailCam camera, and the full suite of nanny and driver-assistance features. The Trail Rail Cargo Management System, a spray-in bedliner, and a Trailer Tow package are also included. The standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine is mated to a standard six-speed manual or optional eight-speed automatic transmission.
While the cynical among us might suggest the Launch Edition is just a cheap trick to generate hype, we suggest they stay the hell out of Toledo on April 4, lest they suffer the lingering effects of an unfiltered dose of civic pride.
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