SPY PICS: Next generation Jeep Grand Cherokee

The current-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee is heading towards the twilight, but its replacement is driving around Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Carsales caught a pair of heavily-camouflaged prototypes scurrying along one of LA’s busiest streets today before quickly attempting to flee the scene (along with a chaperone driving a Michigan-plated Chrysler 300C) when our eagle-eyed spy started snapping pictures of the pair.

But we managed to tail them for a couple of blocks and catch a glimpse of what appears to be the fifth-generation Grand Cherokee undergoing development work in heavy traffic.

While the cladding hides most of what it is underneath (other than the silhouette of a high-riding SUV), the vehicle is clearly the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee that is expected to be officially revealed at November’s 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show. The dead giveaway is the trademark seven-bar grille that can be seen through the mesh on the front.

Jeep has yet to confirm any details of the 2021 model year Grand Cherokee, but our man on the ground in LA tells us the cars appeared to be slightly larger than the current model, with a longer wheelbase and extra rear overhang that suggests it will be available with a seven-seat configuration for the first time.

One of the cars also produced a distinctly four-cylinder engine note as it attempted to accelerate rapidly from the traffic lights, and then emitted a faint electrical whirr when it braked, hinting that it was likely powered by the same hybrid drivetrain as the upcoming Wrangler Plug-In Hybrid.

It is uncertain whether that powertrain will be offered in Australia, as the Wrangler PHEV is currently only developed for left-hand drive and set to be exclusively available in the USA.

We do expect, however, that the new Jeep Grand Cherokee will come with a raft of engine options nonetheless. These will include a new-generation diesel, potentially a high-output turbo four-cylinder and an update of FCA’s Pentastar petrol V6.

While the current Grand Cherokee’s origins can be tracked back to the Mercedes-Benz ML, the new car is based on a modified version of the same Giorgio platform that underpins the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia,.

That could also lead to the eventual high-performance SRT variant adopting the Quadrifoglio’s Ferrari-developed 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 -- although demand for V8-powered muscle machines is still strong in the US where the Grand Cherokee will be a big seller.

Our LA spy didn’t manage to stick his camera into the cockpit of the cars while they were driving, but did get a glimpse of what appears to be a heavily revised dash with a fully digital instrument cluster and a large central touchscreen before they escaped.