Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk

This is sensational!

Wheels is currently in the good ol’ US of A putting the muscle SUV to the test. But before the review is released, we thought we’d get you primed for the sheer scale of this beast with a quick rundown of its impressive stats and figures.

First, the headline act. The 6.2-litre supercharged ‘Hellcat’ V8 produces 527kW and 874Nm.

But that is meaningless without context. When it arrives, the Trackhawk will become the most powerful eight-cylinder car you can buy in Australia and the third most powerful outright – behind the Ferrari 812 Superfast and Lamborghini Aventador S.

Now, pricing for Australia is yet to be revealed, however even if our $140,000-plus estimate is conservative, that is one of the most impressive performance bargains out there. There is nothing in the sub-$200,000 bracket that comes close to dealing out those sorts of figures.

Next is acceleration. 0-100km/h is knocked over in a claimed 3.6 seconds. Be assured we will be conducting independent performance testing once we get our hands on the Trackhawk in Australia. The laws of physics will have a hell of a case to answer if that figure is true.

But again, context is needed to truly grasp the tectonic scale of that performance. This 2426kg monstrosity will out sprint an Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, Aston Martin DB11, manual Porsche 911 GT3, and match a Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2 Spyder. It’s bloody quick.

Beyond 100km/h though, it still puts up impressive numbers. The quarter mile will be crushed in a claimed 11.6 seconds, crossing the finish line at 116mph (186km/h). The HSV GTSR W1 ran a 12.3 second ET at 195.5km/h when we tested it earlier this year.

It’s not just about performance though. The Trackhawk has the largest front brakes ever fitted to a Jeep, measuring in at a whopping 400mm. These are grabbed by six-piston Brembo calipers, and can haul the Trackhawk’s considerable heft to a standstill from 100km/h in just 36 metres. That’s like a stampeding rhino stopping on a dime.

The big showpiece for the Trackhawk is what is lying under the hood, the famed Hellcat V8. This will be the first time the engine is on sale in Australia – we sadly missed out on the Challenger and Charger variants.

Inside the beating heart of the Trackhawk is a crankshaft built to withstand a firing pressure of nearly 1600psi, which has been burst tested to 13,000rpm.

A 2,380cc per revolution twin-screw supercharger sits atop the Hemi engine, capable of pumping 30,000 litres of air into the compression chambers a minute. Boost is regulated to a maximum of 11.6psi. All of that, before you even start the beast.