Off-road trims are everywhere now, but they needn’t be restricted to SUVs and crossovers. Chrysler has taken the liberty of imagining what a rough-and-tumble version of the Pacifica would look like, and we’re surprised it’s something the brand doesn’t sell already.
It’s called the Pacifica Grizzly Peak, and, according to Chrysler, it’s only a concept. Still, it’s a concept with a bespoke badge, punched-up interior upholstery and stitching, and it runs. Provided those massive 31-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain tires don’t rub in the wells—and that’s a big qualifier—this thing looks ready to head from the trail to the showroom.
In addition to those beefy tires, the Grizzly Peak has been raised 2.75 inches in the front and 2.5 inches at the rear, for an effective increase in ground clearance of a lot. There’s also a Rhino Rack on the roof, TYRI light bar with Baja Designs fog lamps, ARB retractable awning, and splash guards. What may look like black cladding from afar around the sills and bumper is actually a protective wrap.
It looks pretty good for a rugged Pacifica. Inside, Chrysler’s made some functional changes aside from the sporty and stylistic ones. The third-row bench has been removed so that explorers could theoretically lay their sleeping bags down behind the captain’s chairs. Now, I haven’t been in a Pacifica in some time, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t fit lengthwise back there, and I’m 5’10.” In the back, you’ll also find 150-volt/450-watt power access and a second set of tie downs, plus a cubby under the floor that runs right up to the tailgate.
Chrysler hasn’t offered any insight into the Grizzly Peak’s mechanicals aside from it being all-wheel drive, but we can glean everything else from there. The Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid only drives its front axle, so, assuming no other changes, this concept will have the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 with 287 horsepower, and that’s it.
Supposing Chrysler was to put this thing on sale, the tires seem like overkill, both in terms of fitment and what they’d likely do to the minivan’s ride. But big tires are an obvious way to signal intent with a concept like this—they get the point across, about what the audience is supposed to envision this van doing, and where.
Still, the appeal for an off-road-prepped minivan seems limited, given that minivans in and of themselves are already kind of a niche these days. But if anyone’s going to find out for real, it’d probably be Chrysler, with all its Jeep and Ram connections. The Pacifica Grizzly Peak will be on display at Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, Colorado, this weekend.
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