What It Is

Meant to be to street performance what Trailhawk is to rock-bashing off-road ability. There will be an optional Hellcat engine, and well, info on that part ought to be clear by now.

Why It Matters

Dodge now claims exclusive rights to the SRT badge, but the Jeep Grand Cherokee is currently the bestselling vehicle to wear it. FCA isn’t about to shut down its hot-rod-Jeep money mint, so the hi-po Grand Cherokee will now be known as the Trackhawk.

Platform

The Grand Cherokee shares its skeletal makeup with the Mercedes-Benz M-class, making it one of the few good things to come out of the disastrous DaimlerChrysler tie-up.

Powertrain

It should seem obvious that the supercharged Hellcat V-8 would eventually find its way into a few more engine bays. Paired with four-wheel drive, the 6.2-liter’s 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque could help the Grand Cherokee breach 60 mph in less than four seconds. Base 475-hp Trackhawk models will come with the naturally aspirated 6.4-liter V-8 that is used in today’s Grand Cherokee SRT.

Competition

BMW X5 M; Land Rover’s new highest-performance model, the Range Rover Sport SVR; Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG; Porsche Cayenne Turbo S.

What Might Go Wrong

We hear that Jeep is struggling to blast-proof the Grand Cherokee’s driveline against Hellcat torque bombs. There are two obvious work-arounds: Engineers could electronically limit torque in lower gears or, less likely, just skip four-wheel drive.

Estimated Arrival and Price

Look for the first $65,000 Grand Cherokee Trackhawks at Costcos, gas stations, drag strips, and meetings of the South Jersey mafia starting in mid-2016.

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