This is the new 1:64 scale replica the 1992 Jeep Wrangler YJ Sahara vehicles used in the 1993 science fiction adventure film Jurassic Park starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough.
These Jeeps were among the most famous vehicles used in the first film (and some of the subsequent sequels), along with the Ford Explorers that had been converted to run on electric power supplied by a fixed rail.
This is the new 1:64 scale replica the 1992 Jeep Wrangler YJ Sahara vehicles used in the 1993 science fiction adventure film Jurassic Park starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough.
History Speedrun: The Jurassic Park Jeeps
The 1993 dinosaur-science-fiction-thriller Jurassic Park embedded itself into the memory of an entire generation of kids (and adults) around the world. Interestingly it resulted in a huge increase in the number of paleontologists in the years that followed – it’s been called the “Jurassic Park effect.”
Of the vehicles used in the film, perhaps the two that are best-remembered are the Ford Explorers that were electric self-driving vehicles powered by an electric rail that led them around the dinosaur enclosures much like a zoom tour, and the gas-powered Jeep Wranglers.
These Jeep Wranglers were the YJ model finished to Sahara spec, with special Jurassic Park paint jobs that included a large diagonal red line that was said to stop the triceratops from charging them.
The Wranglers were used as staff cars and they saw screen time in many of the film’s most memorable moments, including running from a T-Rex and that moment when Sam Neill (playing Alan Grant) and Laura Dern (playing Ellie Sattler) see dinosaurs for the first time.
Interestingly, the role of Alan Grant was turned down by William Hurt, Harrison Ford, and Tim Robbins before it was offered to the Australian actor Sam Neill. Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss had been considered for the part, but were too expensive.
Above Video: This is the original theatrical trailer for Jurassic Park, a film that rewrote the book on what dinosaur films could be, and still sets the standard today over 30 years later.
The Jeep Wrangler YJ series entered production in 1986 to replace the outgoing Jeep CJ series that had begun right after the end of WWII as a civilian version of the war-time Willys Jeep. “CJ” simply stood for “Civilian Jeep.”
The YJ had better handling and road manners than its predecessors, thanks to a wider track, wider spaced leaf springs, and the fitment of trackbar links and anti-roll bars – this was all engineered in to reduce the chance of the vehicle flipping under heavy cornering.
The rectangular headlights of the YJ series proved to be somewhat controversial, and the TJ model that succeeded it would return the Wrangler to more traditional round headlights.
In the years since Jurassic Park debuted, many YJ owners have fitted decal kits to convert their Jeeps to Jurassic Park-spec, and they’re always a kit at Jeep get-togethers and cars & coffee-style events.
The New Hot Wheels Jurassic Park Jeep
This is the new 1:64 scale replica the 1992 Jeep Wrangler YJ Sahara staff vehicles from Jurassic Park. These models are highly detailed replicas of Jeep 18, this was the vehicle that carried Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm from the Isla Nublar Heliport to the Visitor Center at the beginning of the film.
The box that the car comes in features the large, somewhat ominous gates of Jurassic Park, and most buyers will probably keep their Jeep 18s in the original packaging.
It has the correct red stripe detailing, the “18” markers on the sides and hood, the red wheels, the spotlights, front-mounted winch, and other period correct details all in place. The box that it comes in features the large, somewhat ominous gates of Jurassic Park, and most buyers will probably keep their Jeep 18s in the original packaging.
You can now buy your own Hot Wheels Jurassic Park Jeep from the official Hot Wheels online store here, with an MSRP of just $8 USD. These limited edition Mattel Creations series tend to sell out quickly, so if you do want one it might be advisable to snap it up relatively fast.
Images courtesy of Mattel
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
