Texas automotive specialist Hennessey has just dropped a video of one of its modified Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawks hitting 181 mph (291 km/h) on a public road all while carrying a Christmas tree on its roof. Santa Claus may want to think about upgrading his sleigh and getting himself one of these.
A couple of years ago, Hennessey took one of its modified Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcats up to 174 mph (280 km/h) while it had a tree strapped to the roof to set a record for the “world’s fastest Christmas Tree.”
Eager to beat this record, the American tuner headed to the Uvalde Proving Grounds in Texas and recruited a professional driver to jump behind the wheel. The tuner had to make sure the tree was adequately strapped down to the roof of the Trackhawk to ensure it didn’t fly off and cause an accident.
Hennessey offers a number of different upgrade packages for the Trackhawk that lift power up to 850 hp, 1,000 hp, and 1,200 hp respectively. The example used in this test was churning out 1,000 hp when it hit the pavement.
In standard guise, the Trackhawk will allegedly hit 180 mph (290 km/h), a seriously impressive figure. The SUV used in this test probably could have gone slightly faster than 181 mph but we’ve got no doubt that the drag created by the Christmas tree held it back somewhat. Then there’s the design of the Jeep itself which isn’t exactly what you’d call ‘aerodynamic.’