Hellcat V8 for Grand Cherokee

According to a report by Car & Driver, Jeep will rename its top-shelf Grand Cherokee, the SRT, as the Trackhawk from next year – and it will be offered with the same ballistic 527kW/880Nm V8 as the Dodge Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcat muscle cars, which could also be sold in Australia next year.

C&D says Jeep trademarked the Trackhawk name last year and -- at least for the 2017 model year Grand Cherokee -- it will replace the SRT name, which will become the sole domain of Dodge.

It expects the standard 2017 Grand Cherokee Trackhawk – the new name Jeep will use for road-focussed models, in the same way its off-road oriented vehicles wear the Trailhawk badge – to be available with the same naturally-aspirated 344kW/624Nm 6.4-litre HEMI V8 as the current $80,000 GC SRT (pictured), as well as the higher-output 6.2-litre supercharged Hellcat bent eight.

That means that if the standard Grand Cherokee Trackhawk's 4.8-second 0-100km/h pace isn't quick enough for you, the Hellcat-spec version could haul the 2336kg SUV to the national highway limit in less than four seconds.

That would make the hottest production Grand Cherokee ever offered quicker -- as well as more powerful -- than vastly pricier European hyper-SUVs like Porsche's Cayenne Turbo S, the BMW X5 and X6 M, and the upcoming Range Rover Sport SVR and Mercedes-AMG GLC 63.

Not surprisingly, given the mountain of torque involved here, Car & Driver sources say Jeep is struggling to maintain the durability of the Grand Cherokee's 4x4 drivetrain with the blown Hellcat V8, which could necessitate a rear-drive layout or, more likely, electronic torque reduction in lower gears.

The Hellcat-spec Grand Cherokee is expected on sale in the US around mis-2016 but, like the Charger and Challenger Hellcats, is not yet confirmed for right-hand drive production or Australian availability.