Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8
Nothing about the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 makes any kind of sense. Aside from the insane incongruity of a 420-horsepower Jeep, the whole idea of a high-performance SUV is almost entirely nonsensical.
Compared to cars, sport-utility vehicles have certain advantages--increased cargo-carrying capacity, off-road ability, and the visibility provided by a high-seating position. The inevitable trade-off is a set of dynamic compromises that militate against performance. SUVs tend to be heavier, tipper, and far less aerodynamic than their more car-like stablemates. This goes double for Jeeps, which have admirably retained the off-road prowess that made the brand famous--even as other automakers have emasculated their SUVs' off-road abilities.
So why take a perfectly good Jeep Grand Cherokee and make a hot rod out of it? Especially when by so doing you drop its ride height and cripple the off-road and towing abilities that make it special? Basically, what you have left is an SUV that has plenty of S but no U.
It may not make much sense, but even so the Grand Cherokee SRT8 is
still all kinds of cool. To begin with, it's really, really fast--which
is what happens when you marry a torquey 420-horsepower Hemi V-8 to
all-wheel-drive traction. At less than 5 seconds to 60, this heavy
five-door SUV shows its heels to such great 1980s supercars such as the
Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari Testarossa, and runs with modern performance superstars from Porsche, BMW, and Audi.
Besides its raw speed, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 has the advantage of pure thuggish, insolent malevolence. Especially in black, it looks almost impossibly intimidating in the rear-view mirror. It's not quite beautiful, but it has a definite identity and a purpose.
That identity and purpose has absolutely nothing to do with its familiar predecessor, my grandfather's Jeep Wagoneer, which sacrificed performance and comfort for scads of truck utility. No, the Grand Cherokee SRT8's true no-utility, all-performance antecedents are the Dodge Lil' Red Express and, especially, the GMC Typhoon and Syclone siblings.
Like those trucks, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn't make much sense.
But, ultimately, performance legends don't have to be particularly
rational. I'll bet the people who buy a Grand Cherokee SRT8 buy it
because it makes their heart beat faster and because it captures their
imagination--they won't be disappointed that it won't help them reach
their favorite fishing hole.
The video below shows how quickly the Grand Cherokee SRT8 can sprint to 145 mph at full chat--it's rather inspirational. The two images of the silver SRT8 come from Flickr user 762X51, while the black SRT8 image comes from Nic.Legaspi.
--Chris H.
Special Man on December 16, 2008 at 05:28 AM
WOW ! Nice Car
Steaming Pile on December 16, 2008 at 05:35 AM
Wretched excess at its worst. Add in a whole bunch of chrome and you might have something - a Chrysler version of an Escalade or something. What you have here is a seriously badass station wagon - more power than Mom needs to shove a wagon that's way too heavy for what Mom wants to do with it. Like you said, it doesn't make sense.
I wish they'd bring back the original Cherokee, which was a pretty decent vehicle that was pretty much purpose-built and therefore had quite a bit of the "U" that you seek when buying one of these things. I bet those are a lot of fun.
V8Dan on December 16, 2008 at 06:15 AM
I'm not sure why Jeep brought this to market other than an attempt to offer a poor mans version of a twin turbo Porsche Cayenne.
David Colborne on December 16, 2008 at 08:44 AM
Pure, unmitigated nonsense at its finest. I'd say this is almost as ridiculous and unnecessary as the Eagle Sport, only, deep down, I wish AMC did do this to the Eagle. Seriously, how hard would it have been to make an AMX version of the Eagle to go along with the Spirit AMX? It was the same body type! Gah!
John B on December 16, 2008 at 09:33 AM
I'm sure the anti-car/SUV croud will be screaming about this, using it as the poster child of how ALL SUVs are evil and should be banned.
The fact is, like Bill Harrah's Ferrari-powered Jeep Wagoneer, this will remain a rare beast. The high purchase price and gas prices will mean it WON"T be the preferred transport of soccer moms everywhere.
The free market at work.
Mochi Mochi on December 16, 2008 at 09:59 AM
As is it's kind of small for my tastes and perhaps a little anemic. But i'd consider buying one of these if it came with an extra turbine engine shooting out the rear that did nothing but rev freely and torque the frame. And perhaps and option of a continuous car ground effects lighting system that was powered by a gas burning flame thrower capable of melting tarmac while running at speeds above 85mph. yeah - this car just lacks excess. If only it were bigger, heavier, and got worse gas milage, but with a few tweaks like that i'd snap one up in a minute.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on December 16, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Mochi: actually, I think it's just begging for a trick lowrider suspension and a flamethrower, per one of your earlier suggestions:
http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/05/car-lust--toyot.html#comment-116991832
Steaming Pile on December 16, 2008 at 10:30 AM
@John B - not to mention the fact it's a Cerberus-era Chrysler product and probably chock full of fail. I wouldn't care what people drove as long as:
1. Such vehicles were classified as passenger cars instead of light trucks. Clearly this is a station wagon, not something meant to do serious work.
2. We had a European-style tax on cubic inches.
3. The federal gasoline tax were raised to something resembling that of most other developed countries.
4. I had the option, provided by #2 and #3, of not driving at all, even in second or third tier communities.
You want to pollute the air and put money in the pockets of terrorists, go right ahead, but it should cost you. You ought to be the one paying for DoD to secure the oil supply, not me.
John B on December 16, 2008 at 11:16 AM
I'm afraid you're right...soon we'll be like Europe...the common working guys driving 500cc econoboxes, while the privledged will drive V-12 Benzs...simply because they can afford the taxes.
If something is bad, ban it for everyone...not let the wealthy do it (because they can afford the taxes) while effectively banning it for the poor by making it more expensive.
Why should an average guy make his family drive in a less-safe econobox while politicians and film stars drive whatever they want?
Why should I take the bus to work while Al Gore can rent a private jet because he has the money?
I'm afraid that soon, somebody with a Studebaker or any other modest collector car will be put in the same category as Ralph Lauren or Jay Leno.
They'll be considered "rich" because they can afford a "collector" car with a "big, thirsty V-8"...and don't kid yourself that will will stop at the guys with Lambos or Benzs.
Politicans are great at making "one size fits all" rules, that don't work well in the complex real world.
Collin on December 16, 2008 at 11:21 AM
@ Steaming Pile: Such ideas might make sense if the US was willing to lower its safety standards so that Euro market cars could actually be sold in the US.
Second: The DoD doesn't protect the oil supply, especially not if you are referring to the Iraq war. We could have bought the rights to all of Iraq's oil from Saddam for what we have spent on the war. Some try to assert such a thing so that people think we have a reason to be in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc.; however, it would have been cheaper (remembering that before we invaded Iraq, oil was $20 a barrel) to just buy the oil. The invasion of Iraq actually reduced the supply of oil available to us, and increased the cost. The real reason we are in the middle east is to support Israel. Nobody,not even the likes of Hugo Chavez, is going to stop selling us their surplus oil; they need our money just as much as we need their oil.
Personally, this type of vehicle isn't my cup of tea (I'd rather drive a piece of crap way faster than intended, and hate driving SUVs), but attempting social engineering by taxation is a bankrupt approach, and I'm tired of certain folks trying to attach some type of moral superiority to what type of vehicle they drive.
Anthony Cagle on December 16, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Aaaaaagggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
SwedishMetal on December 16, 2008 at 02:01 PM
I always thought this vehicle (and it's classmate, the Trailblazer SS) was a peculiarly american way of building a performance wagon, which is something us americans hate for some reason. lets see: big V8, full-time AWD, lowered suspension, ground effects... a real man knows a wagon when he sees one. as much as love the idea of a insane street-rod Jeep, i think this was done better in the Magnum SRT-8 (RIP).
hopefully the anti-SUV craze will lead the staid germans to bring over ridiculous gems like the M5 touring, and (god help me please) the RS6 Avant.
David Colborne on December 16, 2008 at 02:23 PM
*Dons flame-retardant suit*
Keep in mind that the only reason we had an SUV craze to begin with is because the American public wanted big, powerful wagons but wasn't allowed to produce them in quantity anymore due to CAFE restrictions. Law of unintended consequences and such.
*Ducks*
Slick on December 16, 2008 at 04:36 PM
This car is fantastic, it basically says to the greenies "CAFE standards? LOL, is that some kind of fair trade coffee thing?" but i seriously love it, but i wouldnt want to own one (no petrol monies)
P.S i saw one on tv doing autocross, blew my mind how well it remained level for a suv.
Brian on December 16, 2008 at 05:29 PM
"Grand Cherokee SRT8 has the advantage of pure thuggish, insolent malevolence."
Oh yeah. That's right. Politics aside, I think the Jeep is a pure, original SUV design which surpasses the GM and Ford varieties quite well. What a shame there's no AMC or Chrysler really to take credit for it now days.
Mochi Mochi on December 16, 2008 at 06:51 PM
Man i love flame throwers! CookieTDO : Thanks for digging up my old comment. Guys - the Cherokee is a complete wuss-mobile without one of these:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=FGIUlE3TUeA
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=3nUCFN6WI38
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=RonbdEPSq6U
jump to the 38 sec time stamp on this next one:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=GHBS7RZDA74
get it to throw big frickin flames and i'll get interesting but this suckka needs to dance before i'll drive it.
Shawn on December 16, 2008 at 07:58 PM
Ok, so it's quicker than a Lambo Countach....but what about a LM002? Even if it is, give me a Rambo Lambo anyday!
John B on December 20, 2008 at 01:18 PM
To all SUV haters....
We just had 23" odf snow in one day.
SUVs were the only thing running.
Delivering Meals on Wheels to shut-in seniors, taking nurses to work, driving news crews all over town, pushing out stuck cars and enabeling familes to get groceries.
I didn't see many hybrids outr in the sub zero cold that bracked the snow "event".
So I guess there is a use for them.
Asterio on December 25, 2008 at 11:52 AM
John B: Obviously there is a use for SUV's, that's why they're still made -_-
tigerstrypes on August 02, 2009 at 04:52 PM
I love this thing! I have seen a surprisingly fair amount of them here in Puerto Rico, where people think that a tank is probably the best vehicle for our roads (but that's another story).
It's way more affordable to buy and maintain than a Porsche Cayenne of any trim and probably a Mazda CX-7 Turbo. And forget about the Brabus-edition Mercedes SUVs! Youtube is full of videos of the SRT8 holding its own against other impressive machinery!
Coming from a big family, we need a big, safe car with lots of luggage space. Maybe this version exists to satisfy the driving souls of those that have been forced to sell their driving toys for something more "family friendly".
BTW, if you guys want insanity, this is just the beginning. Look up the Hennessey version of this machine!
ken on December 11, 2009 at 09:46 PM
love it, try not to pASS JUDGEMENT, YOUR PARENTS (if you had any) did not put you on this planet to pass judgment....LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it........
Jammie on January 11, 2011 at 10:36 PM
I have had mine for 3 years and I love it! I'm also a mom and it's not too much power. I'm sure if you drove it your attitude would change.