2020 Jeep Gladiator leaked ahead of LA reveal

There won't be much left to discover when the Gladiator finally makes its debut.

Jeep can't keep a lid on its upcoming pickup truck.

We know it's called Gladiator because we briefly saw the name listed on the company's media site, and we now know what it looks like thanks to a batch of leaked official images. There won't be much left to discover when the long-awaited Gladiator finally makes its debut at the 2018 Los Angeles auto show.

Published on Jeep Gladiator Forums, the images confirm the Gladiator looks like the fourth-generation Wrangler from the tip of the front bumper to the edge of the rear doors. Its wheelbase is longer than the Unlimited's but it nonetheless keeps the same rear doors. Behind the cab, it gets a five-foot steel box with an external power source and integrated tie-down hooks.

Buyers can order a soft top or one of two hard top options. They can also remove the doors and fold down the windshield. Clearly, the truck will be more at home in the great outdoors than on plywood run to Home Depot. As of writing, it sounds like the Gladiator will be offered exclusively as a four-door model.

The line-up will initially include three trim levels called Sport, Overland, and Rubicon, respectively. Other variants could appear later in the production run. The truck will come standard with a 3.6-liter V6 engine linked to either an eight-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual. Jeep will add a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel option in 2020. Four-wheel drive will come standard regardless of engine or transmission type, and the Gladiator will boast a 7,650-pound towing capacity in its most powerful configuration.

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator will make its official debut at the Los Angeles auto show. Sales will begin in early 2019. Pricing information hasn't been released yet, but we expect it will start in the vicinity of $35,000.

What's in a name?

Why Gladiator? History buffs will remember Jeep introduced the name in 1962 on a pickup variant of the Wagoneer. It's a choice that's somewhat inaccurate from a historical standpoint, a modern-day Gladiator should be based on the Grand Cherokee instead of on the Wrangler, but we doubt anyone will mind.