Iconic Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is fun to drive and can hit high speeds — don’t look at fuel economy figures

THERE are a bunch of berserk motors made over the pond that we’ll sadly never get our British mitts on.

Anything Henessey or Hellcat-flavoured for instance are all but contraband for us apparently sensible, fuel-savvy Brits. Until now, that is.

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Enter Jeep. The iconic, all-American* (*insert Italian ownership caveat) brand saw a gap in the market and filled it with 6.2-litre, V8 HEMI supercharged beast of an SUV.

Having lassoed an inconceivable 707 horses under its scooped-out bonnet the traditionally mud-plugging firm has served us up the most powerful super-SUV in the world – trumping previous benchmarks such as the Lamborghini Urus and Bentley Bentayga W12.

But here’s the deal. Whereas Bentley smugly charge £296, and Lamborghini £257 per horsepower, Jeep delivers its pound-stretching power for a mere £127 per filly.

And, while this Jeep is a strictly limited release – just 100 are coming to the UK – it’ll be more exclusive too if admittedly less bejeweled than its rivals.

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Boasting 3.5 seconds for a 0-62mph dash and claiming to kiss the 100mph mark at 8.8 seconds, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk begged to be tested. In a drag race.

On a disused army airbase. Against a pair of performance pin-ups from the past – namely the original Audi Quattro and the 5.0 TVR Griffith.

Launch control enabled, and the ultimate Jeep is all the feverish fun the figures suggested it would be – condemning the thirsty old-timers to its side mirrors in an instant.

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And, of course, the kicks don’t stop at 62mph either – they’ll go on until 180mph.

The Hellcat-derived SUV duly chalks-up a quarter mile in under 12 seconds before I’m forced to slam on the predictably-proportioned bright yellow Brembo brakes.

Yet for all its technical ludicrousness, the Trackhawk is relatively subtle in its styling both inside and out.

In fact, while you can’t hear the gorgeous cacophony that bellows from its liquid titanium quad exhaust pipes you could easily have it pegged as a regular Grand Cherokee – which make it all the more perfect for nailing those unexpected traffic light duels.

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Do the maths and this ballistic Jeep is a no-brainer if you are in the enviable position of shopping for a super-SUV.

Just don’t look at the fuel economy figures.

Not ever.

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