C/D: Next Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 all but confirmed

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:58:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, SUV, Chrysler, Jeep, Rumormill

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee - Click above for high-res image gallery

We're expecting awfully big things from the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is rumored to begin initial production early next month. This will be the first totally new design to roll out of Chrysler's design and engineering departments since America's number three automaker was bailed out by the federal government and Italy's Fiat, so it had better be good.

And if a new Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 is good and the expected 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is better... well then, a suitably enlarged 6.4-liter version of the well-liked Hemi would be best of all, right? According to the Car and Driver crew, just such a beastie is currently in development, though Chrysler is reportedly neither confirming nor denying its existence in the product pipeline.

If true, C/D's currently imaginary Grand Cherokee SRT8 would get an unadulterated and naturally aspirated power figure that's well over 500 horsepower and possibly a tad more than the BMW X5 M's towering 555-horse rating. Rumor has it that Jeep wants its SRT8 to be the quickest SUV on the market, which would mean besting the aforementioned German's 4.0-second run to 60.

Also on the menu would likely be fully adjustable air suspension to keep things planted when the going gets twisty and an appropriate steroidal injection to the standard 2011 Grand Cherokee's already attractive sheetmetal. If it's indeed coming to market - and we have reason to believe that it will - we wouldn't expect to see the GC SRT8 before 2012 at the earliest.

Gallery: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Source: Car and Driver]

C/D: Next Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 all but confirmed originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Jeep SRT8 freshening?

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, SUV, Jeep

Click image above for small gallery of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8

While out in the Mojave testing the new Subaru STI, our buddy Rich Truesdell not only came upon a fleet of 2009 Acura TLs, but caravan of Mopars. There were "several Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s, a Dodge Challenger, with a camouflaged Jeep Grand Cherokee towing a trailer in tandem with a Mercedes ML towing a similar trailer." The ML was a tipoff that this could be a Grand Cherokee with the Mercedes-shared turbodiesel engine. But when the vehicles passed by, they knew they were listening to a Hemi under that hood. So maybe it is just an upgraded Hemi that was being load-tested against a similarly powerful ML550. Informed speculation says that a new fascia lies behind the camo and it was undergoing cooling testing. Rich also mentions tire upgrades and even a horsepower bump as possible reasons for the desert excursion. One intriguing theory is the adaptation of Chrysler's gas-saving multi displacement system to the hi-po Hemi, something Chrysler has said wouldn't work on this engine. We'll probably have to just wait and see, but for now, check out our mini gallery supplied by Truesdell and Automotive Traveler for the rest of the tale of the encounter in the desert.

Gallery: Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 spy shots

[Source: Automotive Traveler]

Spy Shots: Jeep SRT8 freshening? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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