After much talk and a buzzing rumormill, confirmation has come that a Jeep Grand Cherokee Hellcat will launch by the end of 2017.
The news was announced by Jeep chief executive Mike Manley while speaking to a journalist at the Detroit Auto Show.
During the interview, Manley was quizzed as to whether the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 could be installed into the Grand Cherokee. The chief responded “not only can I put a Hellcat motor in [a Grand Cherokee] for you, I’m going to bring that to market by the end of 2017.”
News about a potential Hellcat-powered Jeep first emerged in 2014 when the company trademarked the name ‘Trackhawk’. Speculation still suggests that that’s what this crazy Grand Cherokee model could be dubbed.
With 707 hp on tap, it is reported that the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk could actually out accelerate both the Charger SRT Hellcat and Challenger SRT Hellcat thanks to its all-wheel drive system. In fact, claims of a 3.5 second sprint to 60 mph are circulating. If true, that’ll make it the world’s fastest accelerating SUV.
Note: 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT pictured