Hellcat-Powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Won’t Replace the Current SRT Jeep
You’ll still have a choice between supercharged and naturally-aspirated Hemis.
Fans of high-performance Jeeps, prepare to double your pleasure. When the new Hellcat-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk lands in dealerships next year, it’ll be sold alongside the current Grand Cherokee SRT, not in place of it.
That’s according to perfectly-named Jeep bossman Mike Manley, who gave the good word to The Detroit News at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week.
“I don’t see any reason to stop our current Grand Cherokee SRT just because we’ve launched the Trackhawk, because they’re going to be very different vehicles,” Manley said.
He was vague on exactly how the Trackcat would differ from the regular SRT, though the name means it’s basically a foregone conclusion that it will come with Mopar’s 6.2-liter supercharged V8 beneath its presumably-bulbous hood. Assuming the Hellcat Jeep makes the same 707 horsepower as it does in the top-tier Challenger and Charger, it’ll pack 237 horsepower more than the current Grand Cherokee SRT and its naturally-aspirated 6.4-liter V8—which works out to a 50 percent increase.
In that same conversation, Manley also spilled the beans as to when we’d finally be able to see the Hellcat-powered Grand Cherokee in all its glory. The burly SUV will make its debut at the New York International Auto Show this April, with production rigs landing in showrooms by September or October.
“There is international demand for the vehicle, but the U.S. is going to get it first,” Manley said. Reports that he then tore open his button-down shirt to reveal a picture of George Washington riding a bald eagle while shouting “‘MURICAH!” remain unconfirmed at this time.
Pictured: The not-Hellcatted 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT
