Do SUVs make for good drag races? A couple of decades ago, they clearly didn't. But with the help of some of the most impressive V8 engines available, they can be quite fast in a straight like.
People became aware of this when Jeremy Clarkson challenged a Porsche in a Range Rover Sport that he drove on grass. That was many years ago, but Top Gear never forgot, even though Jezza is no longer working for them. Thus, they organized a 3-way shootout between the Range Rover Sport SVR, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and Porsche Cayenne Turbo.
I've looked at so many ridiculously powerful Grand Cherokee SRT models with superchargers, twin turbos or NOS that, somehow, I forgot the Jeep is still naturally aspirated, which is understandable after you've seen someone murder a Lamborghini in a truck.
Why am I talking about the Jeep? Well, just watch the race. Clearly, an SUV with 462 horsepower is never going to win against a Cayenne Turbo S, which has 100 more ponies and almost 50% more torque. Even so, the Cherokee comes remarkably close to catching the supercharged brute that is the Range Rover Sport. In this case, we are dealing with the SVR model that has a Jaguar-sourced supercharged 5.0-liter underneath that clam-shell hood and is good for 542 hp and 680 Nm (502 lb-ft) of torque. Those numbers are mainly responsible for a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 4.7 seconds.
Who needs that Maserati SUV thing with a V6 engine? Just give us a more powerful version of the Jeep and we will be very happy. Oh wait, FCA is already doing that. By next year, the legendary Hellcat supercharged engine will be available in the Grand Cherokee and the world will be its oyster.
But for now, the awesome yet extremely expensive Porsche Cayenne Turbo S is the fastest stock SUV in the world, no doubt about it. However, we suspect the BMW X5 M is a close second, as we've seen it walk all over the GLE 63 AMG.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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