After more than 30 years on the shelves, the almighty Jeep Gladiator returned to the auto scene at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Less than a few months later, we now have one of the first custom jobs for the Gladiator courtesy of a company known for making some of the best leather products for car interiors in the market. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Katzkin Leather’s interpretation of the Jeep Gladiator, and it’s an absolute doozy. Comprised mostly of upgrades to the truck’s interior, Katzkin Leather’s work on the Gladiator’s cabin is a visual showcase of the company’s new products. The upholstery package is one of the many options that Katzkin is offering through Mopar, complementing the menu of accessories and options that are already available for Jeep’s returning conqueror. Katzkin's show of force on the Gladiator was on full display at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show.

What Makes the Jeep Gladiator By Katzkin Special

It’s a dawn of a new age in the land of pickups, folks. The long-slumbering Jeep Gladiator has finally woken up with its eyes sets on segment domination. It’s got an uphill climb, for sure, but with companies like Katzkin Leather on its side, the Gladiator is returning to the market with guns blazing. One of the many interesting aspects of the Jeep Gladiator is the level of customization that’s available to the market. Stamping your own personality on your own Gladiator is as pretty easy, too. Mopar rolled out its lineup of accessories for the truck as soon Jeep unveiled it in Los Angeles back in November 2018. Any and every functional tool you can install in the Gladiator is available through Mopar. Off-road LED lights? Check. Winch-capable steel bumpers? No problem. Bed-mounted cross rails? Don’t even worry about it.

The company is an established partner of Mopar, as it has been for more than 15 years. “Katzkin is the only custom-focused leather interior manufacturer partnered with OEMs, and our Jeep-specific programs are only getting more creative,” said David Johnson, director of OEM development for Katzkin. “We’ve had the opportunity to work with the Mopar and the FCA Design Team to create complete customization packages for consumers that include stitching patterns, multiple color selections, nameplate logos, and unique textures that open the channels to a customer’s true personality and blending it directly with the vehicle – it’s a very exciting time.”

That partnership was on full display at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show when Jeep rolled out a unique Sting Gray Jeep Gladiator that featured an interior that's dressed to the nines in Katzkin leather. Mind you; this isn’t just your typical leather option, either. The Sting Gray Gladiator arrived in Chicago with an interior covered in Katzkin's Tuscany Ink leather, a type of leather that looks about as clean and as smooth as a baby’s posterior. The honeycomb-like insert is located in the center of the seat, just below the stitched version of Jeep’s distinctive grille logo. Just by looking at the inserts, you know that it looks really comfortable. And for what it’s worth, I don’t know who Lt. Tungsten is, but if he’s as clean as the white contrast stitching that bears his name, then he must be a very tidy man.

That’s the extent of Katzkin’s new offering for the Jeep Gladiator’s interior. Visually, it’s not something that screams for attention, especially in an auto show setting like the Chicago Auto Show. But Katzkin — and Jeep and Mopar, too — isn’t as interested in showing off in an auto show as it is in making a statement in the Gladiator’s menu of options and accessories. That’s where you’ll find the company’s leather interior option for the Gladiator alongside other useful items for the pickup like a bed storage system, a two-inch lift kit, tonneau covers, and vanity graphics on the hood and sides of the Gladiator.

I understand that there’s a bit of irony in offering premium leather on a pickup that was built to get dirty, but life is full of ironies. That doesn’t make them less interesting. If anything, Katzkin’s new leather option for the Gladiator helps give the pickup a premium side that you normally don’t see in a pickup that isn’t afraid to splatter mud and grits all over its body. Not Jeep. Not Mopar. Definitely not Katzkin.

Imagine sitting in a cabin that’s dressed in fancy Katzkin leather as you go out and about in a pickup that’s powered by a 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine that produces 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque and has a pair of 4x4 systems and a maximum towing capacity of 7,600 pounds. That’s what’s in store for you if you get the Jeep Gladiator, and in a matter of months — spring 2019, specifically — you won’t have to imagine it anymore. You can go buy one and option the hell out of it through Mopar.

2020 Jeep Gladiator specifications

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2020 Jeep Gladiator.

Read our full review on the 2005 Jeep Gladiator Concept.