2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Preview

But what happens when Trail-Rated meets SRT? You get the quickest, most powerful Jeep vehicle ever created - the ultimate

Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler Group President and CEO unveiled the all-new 415-horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 at the New York International Auto Show yesterday. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada)

on-road, all-weather Grand Cherokee SRT8. Having just made its world debut at the New York International Auto Show, the fastest Jeep ever made marks many other firsts for the SRT division, as it's the first SRT-tuned Jeep and it's the first four-wheel drive vehicle that the team has ever worked with. It was built and designed to strike right at the heart of the performance SUV segment, championed by the likes of the Mercedes-Benz ML55 AMG, BMW X5 4.8is and Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Feeling bullish about what the SRT team has developed, Jeff Bell, VP of Jeep commented, "The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 . . . will leave in its dust competitors that cost twice the price."

So, how does one go about building an American performance machine that will beat the Europeans at their own game? Dan Knott, Director of SRT says, "With an infusion of SRT DNA, the 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is the new benchmark performance SUV. It has the raw power to outperform the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, while providing exceptional ride and handling, world-class braking, race-inspired interior appointments and functional, performance-oriented

A specially-tuned 6.1-litre SRT-tuned HEMI V8 engine churning out a whopping 415-horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque is tucked under the hood. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada)

exterior enhancements." It probably also didn't hurt to base it on Jeep's most capable and dynamic SUV to date.

Stuffed under the hood of the Grand Cherokee - and what makes Knott's claim of Cayenne Turbo-beating performance possible - is a specially-tuned 6.1-litre SRT HEMI V8 engine churning out a whopping 415-horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, an impressive 25 percent more power than the regular 5.7-litre HEMI V8 found in top-of-the-line Grand Cherokees. While not making quite as much power and torque as other 6.0-litre SRT8 offerings, the end result speaks for itself: an SUV that can rocket to 100 km/h in less than five seconds, trumping all performance SUVs and a few serious sports cars to boot.