Jeep has gone and lost its bikini. Bikini Blue, that is. The awesome bright teal paint color was introduced to the Wrangler lineup for 2019. (It was previously—and currently is—available on the smaller Renegade crossover). Strangely, however, Jeep pulled it from the Wrangler’s list of available paint options mid-year, having offered the hue on the model earlier in the 2020 model year. To quote Jerry Seinfeld, “What’s the deal?”
This is actually a story of two happenings in 2020 Jeep Wrangler paint option world: The apparent culling of Bikini Blue (pictured top) along with two other (fun!) paint options, and the introduction of a new Sarge Green hue. When the 2020 model year opened, the Wrangler was offered in Black, Bright White, Granite Crystal, Sting Gray, Billet Silver, Hella Yella (yellow), Punk’n Metallic (orange), Firecracker Red, Mojito! (electric green), Bikini, and Ocean Blue Metallic. Go on Jeep’s website now to virtually build a Wrangler, though, and you will find not those eleven paint options, but a mere nine. Bikini, Punk’n Metallic, and Mojito! are gone. In their place, Jeep’s added the dark, military-style Sarge Green to the Wrangler’s paint option mix.
We reached out to Fiat Chrysler for more details about the SUV’s unusual mid-year paint color changes, and whether or not this has to do with supply issues as production ramps up post-COVID-19-shutdown. Or, given how 2020 is going so far, the simple recognition that a paint color born for World War III just feels appropriate for the moment. The automaker had no comment.
Now, don’t get us wrong, Sarge Green is a pretty rad color, and unlike the three discontinued paint hues from earlier in 2020, it’s a no-cost option. Its olive drab appearance looks stolen right out of the United States Army motor pool supply shop, a throwback to America’s 1940s war arsenal, and the original General Purpose (gee-p!) vehicle that spawned the entire Jeep brand. We’re just a bit bummed that three other cool paint colors were sacrificed to make it happen. This isn’t the first military-issue olive drab color Jeep has thrown onto the Wrangler (or any other model, for that matter); the brand even once built a special-edition Willys model that included green-painted wheels and little military-style white lettering and star accents on the body.
The closest you can get to that sort of vibe today is the Jeep Wrangler Willys trim levels. There are actually two: One based on the lowly Sport trim (starting at $31,490), and another, more richly equipped model priced in the heart of the Wrangler lineup (at $35,485). Both are available in two- and four-door guises and are distinguished by “Willys” lettering in military-style font on the hood, an old-school “Four-Wheel-Drive!” logo on the tailgate, and black-painted wheels wrapped in 32-inch Firestone off-road tires. Willys Wranglers also include rock rails, shocks borrowed from the hardcore Rubicon trim, and a black-painted grille surround. And, yes, the model looks pretty damn cool decked out in Sarge Green.
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