Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk - official!

707hp, 11.6-second quarter-mile and 180mph - who wants a Range Rover SVR anyway?

You want to know about the numbers, don't you? With any Hellcat-engined product, it's the numbers that matter first. This Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk does indeed pack the same 707hp as its Challenger and Charger stablemates plus, with an automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive, it's actually the quickest too. 60mph is dealt with in 3.5 seconds, before crossing the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 116mph and a 180mph top speed. Peak torque is 645lb ft.

707hp and 4WD means 0-60 in 3.5 seconds...

You want more? Good, as there's plenty. The Trackhawk boasts the largest brakes ever used on a Jeep product, the front discs a gigantic 400mm in diameter. They help stop the car from 60mph in less than 35m. The maximum boost pressure of the supercharger is 11.6psi and has a maximum speed of 14,600rpm. The peak cornering g-force is 0.88g on the standard Pirelli P-Zeros. In case you hadn't guessed, this is a very, very serious Jeep.

"The new Grand Cherokee Trackhawk delivers astounding performance numbers, backed by renowned SRT engineering" says Head of Jeep Mike Manley (and yes, that is his real name). To that end the Trackhawk features a raft of tweaks allowing it to contain that rampant power. The rear drive shaft and the axle it connects to are stronger, there's a new transfer case that's again said to be more durable and an overhauled automatic gearbox. In addition to containing the power, it's said to deliver quicker, more precise and more consistent shifts.

A Bilstein adaptive damping system keeps the body in check (good luck finding a kerbweight so far), with the suspension also revised and featuring aluminium control arms, aluminium knuckles and new hollow anti-roll bars. However, despite the performance focus, the Trackhawk can apparently still tow 7,200lb, or 3,265kg. Which is handy.

Who cares about inside with a supercharged V8?

Allowing the driver to exploit all that hardware is a Selec-Track drive mode system, with five modes: Auto, Sport, Track, Snow and Tow. As is usual for these, it controls the behaviour of the 4WD, the transmission, the suspension and the power steering. Interestingly there's nothing mentioned yet of its influence on the engine. Beginning from a 40:60 front-to-rear torque split in Auto, the Trackhawk can go as rear biased as 30:70 in Track mode; that setting also reduces gearshift time to 160 milliseconds and all driver aids are configured for "ultimate track performance". Tow is exactly as you might expect, with a different torque delivery off the line and a front biased torque split. See, it's an entirely legitimate tow car. At about 10mpg, presumably...

Intriguingly the Trackhawk also has a Custom mode - see the dash pic - which allows the driver to pick and choose their preferred dynamic settings. There's even a Valet setting for when it's in, shall we say, less trustworthy hands, enabled via a pin code and reducing maximum power. It also limits the revs to 4,000rpm, locks out first gear, disables launch control and puts all the driver aids in maximum nanny mode. You've been told!

Marking out the Trackhawk from your puny non-supercharged V8 Jeeps are a selection of 'supercharged' badges - but of course - as well as yellow calipers for the new brakes, 20-inch wheels, cooling ducts where the foglights used to be (always a nice touch), four big exhausts and some wider arches. The wheels seen here can also be replaced with optional forged aluminium rims, saving just over 5kg a corner in unsprung mass. Paint colours include 'Rhino', 'True Blue', 'Granite Crystal' and 'Redline 2'.

'MURICA

Inside the Trackhawk is, well, how you might expect a Jeep Grand Cherokee interior to be actually - Cayenne customers need not worry on that front. It does however feature a steering wheel with "a bevy of comfort, convenience and connectivity controls" as well as a 19-speaker, 825w Harmon Kardon stereo with two subwoofers plus the 'Performance Pages' in the centre screen that can display temperatures, timers and an instant dyno readout. More interesting than instant mpg at least.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk makes its debut at the New York show this week and, as a 2018 model, should be on sale soon. UK sales seem very unlikely at the moment, but then so did the very prospect of Dodge selling 707hp cars with warranties not all that long ago. Fingers very firmly crossed...