When Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced that SRT would no longer be a stand-alone brand, there were concerns that the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and Chrysler 300 SRT would no longer have a home as the high-performance moniker would become exclusive to Dodge.
So far, the only orphan will be the Chrysler 300 SRT (although it’s still available overseas), and the Jeep Grand Cherokee will be getting a high-powered version under the name Trackhawk, which FCA officially trademarked last year. The Grand Cherokee is the best selling model to have worn the SRT badge so there’s no way the company would let this uber-Jeep just disappear because of family naming rights.
The good news doesn’t end there. According to Car and Driver, Jeep will be stuffing the supercharged V8 Hellcat engine into the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and figuring out a way to protect the driveline from all that torque. It’s a tall order for the engineers, so we might be seeing a slightly detuned version of the Hellcat engine or an electronic limiter to help the SUV make it past its warranty period.
The first Grand Cherokee Trackhawks should be arriving in dealer showrooms mid-2016 with the base model offering 475 horsepower from a 6.4-liter naturally aspirated V8.
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