What if the Grand Caravan became an all-terrain vehicle?

What if the Grand Caravan became an all-terrain vehicle?

Posted on February 10, 2021

Just imagine: the Dodge Grand Caravan, now Chrysler Grand Caravan, came close to becoming an even more versatile vehicle than it already is. In fact, in addition to its family pretensions, the Grand Caravan had to become an all-terrain vehicle... in all-terrain format.

According to a former Chrysler designer, this trend almost took hold nearly 30 years ago in the form of a fully-equipped Dodge Caravan - except for one small detail.

Santoro lent his talents to several remarkable vehicles during his time in Sterling Heights, including the Jeep TJ and Dodge Stratus. But in his personal blog, he also wrote that the Grand Caravan was so successful that Chrysler executives wanted to make more specialized versions of it.

Off road with a Grand Caravan

And this is where the idea of an all-terrain van was born.  Using elements from the company's spare parts garbage can and some design creativity, the concept was apparently fleshed out without spending too much money.

To achieve this, the structure of the vehicle had to be modified. For example, the B-pillar was simply obscured, and new front and rear grille bars were installed. To top it all off, a light bar was integrated into the roof rack.

It would have even raised the suspension, enlarged the wheel arches and tried to give it extra ground clearance.

According to designer Santoro, senior management liked the idea so much that they ordered a full-scale prototype. The machine was then presented to enthusiastic Dodge dealers and was on the verge of a world premiere at the Chicago Auto Show. But Jeep dealerships got wind of the deal as well. And they wouldn't have liked the competition. Because remember that, in our neighbours to the south, Jeep and Chrysler dealerships are separate.

So the Grand Caravan all-terrain vehicle disappeared in the meanders of Dodge's creativity, but it would have been stylish!