The current WL-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee has been around for half a decade, but there's still no Hellcat-powered Trackhawk variant. That may soon change, though, thanks to the return of V8-loving Tim Kuniskis as the boss of SRT (and Ram), reports The Drive. With Stellantis bringing HEMI V8s back and the Hellcat engine looking more and more likely to return to the Dodge Charger, the publication spoke to Jeep's vice president of sales, Mauricio Lopez, about the possibility of a high-performance Grand Cherokee being offered again. His responses were as guarded as they always are when discussing future product, but they were promising.
Hellcat-Powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Certainly Possible
Jeep
"I mean, absolutely everything is on the table," said Lopez. "There are a lot of things being developed, but Stellantis announced a $13 billion investment in the future of the company. With that, I can tell you there's a lot of product actions coming that, of course, we cannot announce at this point." He added that "having Tim Kuniskis as the head of this [SRT brand], you can imagine what is coming also from a powertrain perspective." This comes after Grand Cherokee lead engineer Joe Aljajawi recently said that the automaker is listening to customers who want a V8, telling them to "stay tuned for more." With legislation around emissions loosening both here and abroad and that massive investment in domestic production, American brands under the Stellantis umbrella are set to enjoy more freedom to explore powertrains that U.S. buyers want. The only question is when to expect new variants, but the fact that V8 and high-performance trims are not being ruled out implies that the WL Grand Cherokee's platform won't prove too challenging to adapt to an eight-cylinder setup.
What to Expect from a New Grand Cherokee SRT
Cars and Bids
The original Grand Cherokee SRT8 produced over 470 horsepower from its 6.4-liter HEMI V8, and the Trackhawk, offered from 2018-2021, developed up to 707 hp from its supercharged motor. A revival of either variant (non-supercharged or Hellcat-powered) would likely improve on those figures. The Trackhawk could get from 0-60 mph in under 3.5 seconds, and with all-wheel drive, just about anyone could replicate those figures without needing a prepped surface and optimal conditions, unlike the Challenger Hellcat variants, whose tires turned power into smoke more easily than into speed. The tricky thing for an automaker is to keep pricing in the right window. The 2021 Trackhawk started at over $90,000, and offering similar or better performance in the modern WL package for less than six figures may be challenging.
There are no reviews to display.