Jeep Wrangler Arctic and Liberty Arctic arrive in time for winter

First the Sahara, now the Arctic: Later this month, two new Jeep special editions will appear in dealerships--the Wrangler Arctic and the Liberty Arctic, inspired by the extreme conditions they're reportedly designed to attack.

The Jeep Wrangler Arctic two-door, based ironically on the Sahara model, is available in winter-themed colors such as Winter Chill (a light blue), Bright Silver and Bright White. A four-door Wrangler Unlimited Arctic version also is available.

The special edition has a body-color hardtop and fender flares, Arctic badges on the front fenders, a Yeti footprint decal, a black hood decal and a Mopar black fuel-filler door and taillight guards.

The Jeep Wrangler Arctic gets the aggressive wheel and tire package from the Rubicon with unique semigloss black 17-inch wheels wrapped in 32-inch tires.

The interior has black fabric with Polar White accents, orange piping and accent stitching. The heated front seats get Arctic logos, and the door trim and nets are accented in orange. The grab handles and other accent points are also done in Polar White. Mopar slush mats with Jeep lettering complete the package.

The Jeep Liberty Arctic shares most of the features of its Wrangler brother. It gets the same choices of colors, same badges and same Mopar slush mats. The Arctic upgrade is only available on the four-wheel-drive version of the small SUV.

The interior gets the same black-and-orange treatment as the Wrangler, with GORE-TEX embossments and Polar White accents. The Liberty Arctic features gray-faced gauges, one-touch power windows and a nine-speaker Infinity sound system.

Engine outputs on the special editions are the same as those of the standard setups. The Wrangler gets the 283-hp 3.6-liter V6, while the Liberty has a 3.7-liter V6 producing 210 hp.

The Wrangler Arctic will start at an MSRP of $32,669, including an $800 destination charge. The Wrangler Unlimited Arctic stickers for $35,547, and the Liberty Arctic comes in at $27,465.

By Jake Lingeman