Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

The concept of a performance SUV is, in itself, a rather absurd one. Who would have thought that a vehicle designed predominantly for going off-road, in luxury, would prove to be such a great basis for a performance vehicle. The things sell like hotcakes and nowadays, if you make cars and you haven’t a fast SUV in your arsenal, then you’re just square.

2018 Jeep® Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

Jeep’s Grand Cherokee was one of the originals and the much loved American automaker has now made a habit of throwing far too much power at the Grand Cherokee, resulting in a true automotive masterpiece each and every time.

Previously the Grand Cherokee SRT-8, the newly named Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is the newest monster to join the likes of the BMW X5 M, Porsche Cayenne Turbo S e-Hybrid and Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S.

The Powerplant

In true ‘murcan fashion, however, hairdryer-like turbochargers have made way for one humongous supercharger. How big you might ask? Well, each revolution of the twin-screw supercharger moves nearly 2.4-litres of air. Yes, that’s more than the cubic capacity of a Golf GTI’s motor… This is then mated to a meaty 6.2-litre V8, culminating in a whopping 522 kW and 875 N.m of torque, pushed through a strengthened 8-speed TorquFlite automatic gearbox with adaptive modes.

The engine itself features water jackets between the cylinders for optimal cooling, a forged steel crankshaft and a crankshaft damper which has been burst tested to 13 000 rpm. As you can imagine, the Trackhawk’s acceleration is blistering with 0-100 km/h taking just 3.5 seconds.

Straight line speed is great, and all, and one can only imagine what a dream it’ll be towing a caravan with the Trackhawk, but serious driver’s demand a little talent in the corners now, too.

2018 Jeep® Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

With a strengthened rear driveshaft, stronger new axle and a revised differential, as well as short and long arm independent front suspension with coil springs all round, Bilstein adaptive damping suspension and multi-link rear suspension, the Trackhawk really can corner so make sure all goods are secured in the caravan!

As far as the interior is concerned, one can expect niceties such as Active Noise Cancellation, a leather stitched instrument panel and a standard premium metal package, featuring real metal interior elements.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Pricing in South Africa

Fuel consumption is irrelevant and the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk will be available in South Africa from the first quarter of 2019 at a price of R2.2 million.