Mighty FC Concept: From On High, Jeep Delivers a History Lesson To promote its Moab Easter Jeep Safari, the brand's annual off-roading confab, Jeep unveiled a half-dozen concept vehicles this week. In composite, the six may stir memories of a scene in the first "Toy Story" film, when parts of the playthings are indiscriminately mixed and matched, with surreal results. Five of the six concepts were based on existing models, to which parts and accessories from Chrysler's Mopar line were added. But one in the grouping represented a striking departure from type. The Mighty FC Concept pays homage to the vintage Jeep Forward Control, designed by Brooks Stevens and introduced for 1956. Jeep was a Willys trademark when production began, and a Kaiser-Jeep one, which eventually became American Motors Corporation, when production of the FC ended in 1965. Seating the driver over the engine provided generous bed dimensions in a shorter vehicle and imparted to the original Forward Control a measure of bulldog toughness and pool-hall cool. The cab-over engine configuration has been used in other homely yet tough vehicles, like the Pinzgauer and Unimog, beloved of a fringe contingent in the collecting community. The cab-over engine format was devised for long-haul trucks in the "30s to circumvent regulations limiting trailer lengths. The designer Viktor Schreckengost made a White truck cab in the mode in 1933 and received a patent (PDF) in 1934. Some control-cab vehicles visually resemble oddballs from the "60s, like the Volkswagen Transporter and Chevrolet Corvair Ramp-Side. But the engines of those vehicles were placed in back. Stevens, who also designed Hiawatha trains, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and the first Oscar Meyer Wienermobile prototype, appears to have considered the idea of replacing the Forward Control's bed with a full van treatment. The Jeep Mighty FC concept lacks the smooth countenance of Stevens's design, instead wearing the grafted face of the Wrangler, the descendant of the original Jeeps, over two prominent search lights. It rides atop a lengthened platform donated by a 2012 Wrangler Rubicon. The eight-foot bed is built with side-access doors, and the roof is sourced from the Mopar catalog, the JK-8 conversion kit. Interior appointments include generous, if not particularly utilitarian, swaths of leather. The vehicle appears remarkably high, with huge ground clearance for its portal axles, also sourced from Mopar. The axles alone cost from $11,000 tp $12,500 each, a point of consideration for home hobbyists. Many parts of the vehicle were sourced from specialist suppliers like Hanson, Warn and Teraflex. Off-road aficionados may enjoy simply reading aloud the laundry list of aftermarket suppliers whose wares are worn by the big Jeep. The Moab Easter Jeep Safari takes place from March 31 to April 8 in and around Moab, Utah.