Photo: X-Tomi
Jeep is currently busy extending its expertise from making off-road capable vehicles to building ones that excel on the hard, plane surface. This isn't exactly new to the brand that's been offering the Grand Cherokee SRT-8 model for over a decade, but with the Trackhawk it's gone to the next level.
You see, while the SRT-8 had a very decent 6.1-liter Hemi V8 (6.4-liter on the current SRT), its power output never crossed into the pure madness zone. While not technically defined as such, we'd say 500 horsepower is the threshold between powerful SUVs and ridiculous SUVs. The SRT is 25 hp shy of making the jump.
If that's a close call, the same can't be said about the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 in the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. The engine used in the most extreme muscle cars bearing the Hellcat moniker is capable of delivering 707 hp and 645 lb-ft (875 Nm) of torque. Combine that with the four-wheel-drive system, and you get a 5,350 pounds (2,427 kg) behemoth that's capable of reaching 60 mph from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds.
The Trackhawk is so ridiculous it even trumps the W12 Bentley Bentayga on power output and performance, with just the Tesla Model X P100D capable of posting a quicker 0-60 time. Does anyone really need such a car? Well, with Mercedes-AMG selling G63 and G65 for years, you can't really find any reason why Jeep wouldn't do it too.
The question now is whether this high-power epidemic is going to spread to the rest of the company's lineup, and if it does, will it go as far as the entry model Renegade? That's precisely what Australian website The Motor Report asked Scott Tallon, head of brand at Jeep. This is what the FCA official replied:
’Performance leaning utility’ is a relatively new concept,” Tallon said. "There's only been a few players in this space. So as this space develops there could be an opportunity for anyone to capitalize on it, and as long as it meets our internal benchmarks, like the Trackhawk we have today, I think it's something worth taking a closer look at. At this time, though, [we have] no current plans. But the Renegade is intriguing, yes.”
What makes the Renegade so "intriguing" is that it would be entering a virtually new segment, with the closest competitors being the MINI Cooper Countryman S and the Nissan Juke Nismo. And with those model sitting at around 200 hp, the Renegade wouldn't even have to go over its head to best them.
However, we believe that while the Trackhawk monicker might be used on other models, it'll always be the Grand Cherokee that will act as the halo car. The rest would just be feeding off the prestige of its absurd figures while failing to replicate them in their own segments.
If that's a close call, the same can't be said about the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 in the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. The engine used in the most extreme muscle cars bearing the Hellcat moniker is capable of delivering 707 hp and 645 lb-ft (875 Nm) of torque. Combine that with the four-wheel-drive system, and you get a 5,350 pounds (2,427 kg) behemoth that's capable of reaching 60 mph from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds.
The Trackhawk is so ridiculous it even trumps the W12 Bentley Bentayga on power output and performance, with just the Tesla Model X P100D capable of posting a quicker 0-60 time. Does anyone really need such a car? Well, with Mercedes-AMG selling G63 and G65 for years, you can't really find any reason why Jeep wouldn't do it too.
The question now is whether this high-power epidemic is going to spread to the rest of the company's lineup, and if it does, will it go as far as the entry model Renegade? That's precisely what Australian website The Motor Report asked Scott Tallon, head of brand at Jeep. This is what the FCA official replied:
’Performance leaning utility’ is a relatively new concept,” Tallon said. "There's only been a few players in this space. So as this space develops there could be an opportunity for anyone to capitalize on it, and as long as it meets our internal benchmarks, like the Trackhawk we have today, I think it's something worth taking a closer look at. At this time, though, [we have] no current plans. But the Renegade is intriguing, yes.”
What makes the Renegade so "intriguing" is that it would be entering a virtually new segment, with the closest competitors being the MINI Cooper Countryman S and the Nissan Juke Nismo. And with those model sitting at around 200 hp, the Renegade wouldn't even have to go over its head to best them.
However, we believe that while the Trackhawk monicker might be used on other models, it'll always be the Grand Cherokee that will act as the halo car. The rest would just be feeding off the prestige of its absurd figures while failing to replicate them in their own segments.
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