Brute Force

Some cars are ballistic; the Trackhawk is a force of nature – and its pure, raw American muscle trumps its competition

- DIETER LOSSKARN

PUT TING A BIG ENGINE INTO AN OLD CAR’S SUCH AN AMERICAN THING TO DO.

To satisfy the penchant for carporn in the US, Jeep pimped its dated Grand Cherokee design with a 6.2-L 710hp supercharged Hemi powerplant called the Trackhawk. It’s the wildest Jeep ever, the epitome of political incorrectness – which is precisely why this steam hammer’s so much fun to drive.

Imagine a big box that weighs 2.5 tons and accelerates from 0km/hr to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds, accompanied by a V8 engine, roaring primally. It’d turn every drive into The Cannonball Run.

When the souped-up Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT debuted in 2016, the fact it was less of an off-roader than a show-off was evidenced by its 426hp from its 6.1-L Hemi-V8 – there was a lot of fun under its hood.