Here's What Makes The Jeep Trackhawk So Powerful Under The Hood

The year 2018 is a special one for Jeep and MOPAR fans. It marked the debut of the WK2 series Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, undoubtedly one of the fastest production SUVs to hit the streets. It even set the world SUV speed record on ice in 2019 at the Baikal Ice Motor Sports Festival in Russia — achieving a maximum of 280 kph (174 mph) on an icy track. The Lamborghini Urus shattered the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk's ice speed record by going 298 kph (185 mph) in 2021, but it doesn't diminish the latter's propensity for speed.

Jeep claims zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and a quarter mile in 11.6 seconds at 180 mph. Meanwhile, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk's custom Brembo brakes enable a 60 to zero mph braking performance of 114 feet, which is to be expected from the most oversized front brakes ever installed in a production Jeep. The Trackhawk's world-beating performance is one for the books, and it's all thanks to what's under the hood.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk has a supercharged Hellcat V8 under the hood. Boasting 6.2 liters of displacement, the blown V8 produces an astonishing 707 horsepower and 645 pound-feet of torque. The V8 features a wishlist of go-fast mods: Water jackets on the cast iron block to deliver optimal cooling, a forged steel crankshaft with induction-hardened bearing surfaces, forged alloy pistons, powder-forged connecting rods, carbon-coated piston rings, aluminum cylinder heads, sodium-cooled exhaust valves, and a 2,380 twin-screw supercharger with integral charge-air coolers and an electronic bypass valve. 

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Jeep claims the supercharger "is sealed for life with synthetic oil," and could spin up to 14,600 rpm. The blower feeds in air via a 92mm throttle body and cold-air scoops in the front bumper. Moreover, the Trackhawk's Hellcat V8 has two high-flow fuel pumps to feed the hungry monster. 

The engine connects to a TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic gearbox, which turns all four wheels using a Jeep Quadra-Trac on-demand four-wheel drivetrain. The driveline includes a fortified rear drive shaft, a new rear axle, and Select-Trac driving modes with Auto, Sport, Track, Snow, and Tow settings.

Jeep debuted the WL series Grand Cherokee in 2022 after discontinuing the Trackhawk in 2021. We'll have to wait and see if Jeep will revive the Trackhawk badge for the next-gen SUV. All signs point to a hybridized powertrain, possibly a plug-in hybrid with new inline-six gas engines.