Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk lobs from $134,900

JEEP has announced pricing for its fire-breathing Grand Cherokee Trackhawk SUV, with the off-road brand’s halo model arriving in Australian showrooms at $134,900 plus on-road costs.

Packing a massive 522kW/868Nm from its supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi V8 engine, the Trackhawk is the most powerful SUV on sale in Australia, trumping the likes of the Bentley Bentayga (447kW), BMW X5/X6 M (423kW), Range Rover Sport SVR (423kW), Mercedes-AMG GLE63 S (430kW) and Porsche Cayenne Turbo S (419kW), while undercutting all rivals on price by at least $50,000.

The Trackhawk is the most expensive vehicle in Jeep’s range – sitting $48,900 above the Grand Cherokee SRT8 – and can accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds. Top speed is 289km/h.

The Hemi V8 is mated to an eight-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission, which sends power to all four wheels via Jeep’s Quadra-Trac all-wheel-drive system with an electronic limited-slip differential on the rear axle and a single-speed active transfer case.

All that power comes at a cost, however, with the Trackhawk’s claimed combined fuel consumption sitting at a hefty 16.8 litres per 100km of premium unleaded.

According to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia CEO Steve Zanlunghi, the initial 62 units allocated for the Australian launch have already sold out.

“As soon as we announced that the Trackhawk was destined for Australia, our dealers were inundated with enquiry and started taking orders,” he said.

A spokesperson for FCA Australia confirmed that anyone ordering a Trackhawk now would have their vehicle delivered in March.

A number of driveline components have been modified and strengthened to deal with the massive torque and launch control function, including transfer case sprockets and chain, rear axle, differential and half-shafts.

Befitting of a Jeep vehicle, five different drive modes are available, including Auto, performance-focused and rear-biased Sport and Track, Tow for added smoothness and Snow for slippery conditions.

Stopping power comes courtesy of a new Brembo brake system consisting of six-pot front callipers with 400mm two-piece vented rotors and four-pot rear callipers with 350mm vented rotors, which are able to pull up the Trackhawk from 100km/h to standstill in 37m.

The Trackhawk rides on independent front coil-spring suspension with a multi-link rear design, while also receiving Bilstein adaptive damping.

Visually, the Trackhawk is identifiable by the body-coloured wheelarches, 20-inch alloy wheels shod in Pirelli 295/45 Scorpion Verde rubber, 4.0-inch black chrome quad exhaust tips, ‘Supercharged’ and Trackhawk’ badging and the deletion of the foglights to accommodate extra airflow to the engine’s cooling modules.

Inside, the range-topper gets a racing-inspired interior with a three-spoke, flat-bottomed steering wheel, carbon-fibre spears, black chrome finishes, Nappa leather and suede upholstery with embroidered ‘Trackhawk’ logos, ventilated front and heated front and rear seats, 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster display and 8.4-inch Uconnect multimedia display that has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as an array of readouts and timers including instantaneous power and torque measurements.

The Trackhawk also comes standard with the Premium Metal Package that adds metal trim throughout the interior, as well as other extra specification including active noise cancellation, leather-stitched instrument panel, doors, centre console and armrest, Berber floormats and an 825-watt, 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.

Driver assistance features include adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision warning with crash mitigation, front and rear park assist, lane departure warning, hill hold control, seven airbags, advanced brake assist, and tyre pressure monitor.