New Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Confirmed?
We just had the opportunity to ask the Jeep crew about the possibility of a second-gen Grand Cherokee SRT8, and while they won’t officially confirm—or, more important, deny—anything, they did allow that when Chrysler creates an SRT version of a new product, you can generally expect it to appear within the first couple of model years after introduction. We’d call that pretty solid confirmation that America will once again be pumping out bad-ass SUVs within the next couple of years.
Under the hood, expect a 6.4-liter naturally aspirated Hemi; output has been reported as being between 505 and 525 hp, but we have a sneaking suspicion it could be even higher. Rumblings suggest that the 555-hp BMW X5 M is squarely in Jeep’s sights, as the brand would be keen to reclaim the title as the world’s quickest production SUV. We tested the X5 M to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds, so the 2012 Cherokee SRT8 will need to slice 0.4 second from the outgoing 2010 model’s time to once again be king. Of course, it’s possible that 525 hp would be enough to pull off the feat, but why stop there? If Jeep’s going to do this thing, we say let it all hang out, and trumping BMW’s power figure—from a naturally aspirated engine, no less—would be one fine feather in Chrysler’s cap. With air suspension on the list of available technologies for the regular-grade 2011 Grand Cherokee, we’d expect adjustable air springs to make an appearance in the weapons-grade SRT model, too, imparting even sportier handling than before.
The new 2011 Grand Cherokee’s taut, handsome styling should transfer well to the new SRT model; we hope the new model can keep the twin, center-mounted exhaust cannons, which were one of our favorite touches on the previous Cherokee SRT8. We loved that SRT8, but we have a feeling we’ll love the upcoming one even more.
We just had the opportunity to ask the Jeep crew about the possibility of a second-gen Grand Cherokee SRT8, and while they won’t officially confirm—or, more important, deny—anything, they did allow that when Chrysler creates an SRT version of a new product, you can generally expect it to appear within the first couple of model years after introduction. We’d call that pretty solid confirmation that America will once again be pumping out bad-ass SUVs within the next couple of years.
Under the hood, expect a 6.4-liter naturally aspirated Hemi; output has been reported as being between 505 and 525 hp, but we have a sneaking suspicion it could be even higher. Rumblings suggest that the 555-hp BMW X5 M is squarely in Jeep’s sights, as the brand would be keen to reclaim the title as the world’s quickest production SUV. We tested the X5 M to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds, so the 2012 Cherokee SRT8 will need to slice 0.4 second from the outgoing 2010 model’s time to once again be king. Of course, it’s possible that 525 hp would be enough to pull off the feat, but why stop there? If Jeep’s going to do this thing, we say let it all hang out, and trumping BMW’s power figure—from a naturally aspirated engine, no less—would be one fine feather in Chrysler’s cap. With air suspension on the list of available technologies for the regular-grade 2011 Grand Cherokee, we’d expect adjustable air springs to make an appearance in the weapons-grade SRT model, too, imparting even sportier handling than before.
The new 2011 Grand Cherokee’s taut, handsome styling should transfer well to the new SRT model; we hope the new model can keep the twin, center-mounted exhaust cannons, which were one of our favorite touches on the previous Cherokee SRT8. We loved that SRT8, but we have a feeling we’ll love the upcoming one even more.
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