It wasn't as hot as we passed through town today, nor did it matter as the Grand Cherokee SRT8's air conditioning was pumping
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| The SRT8 looks menacing at the base of the spectacular Angeles Crest highway. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
out cold air as we bided our time, cautiously making our way past California's finest mounted on their cream-white H-Ds, looking about as authoritative as men in blue get. Little did they know that we just experienced one of the most entertaining roller coaster rides of our lives, and I'm not talking Six Flags just down the Bouquet Canyon in Valencia, Knots Berry Farm in Buena Park, Orange County, or for that matter the good old Matterhorn bobsleds in Disneyland, in Anaheim.
The Angeles Crest highway is spectacular, and the Grand Cherokee SRT8 might just be the fastest way to get five of your friends and all of their gear to the top. The hyper-Jeep's handling is outrageous, slicing and dicing up corners quicker than my brother-in-law Tony can do in celery and carrots (he's a professional chef after all). What this thing (the SRT8) can accomplish, considering its rather porky and inherently top-heavy configuration, defies Newton's gravitational law, surprising me and my copilot, holding on for dear life while grinning like an eight year old with a new slot-car set.
It manages such feats of brilliance because of a great deal of massaging by the Street Racing Technology (SRT) team's expertise in tuning suspension
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| Almost every SRT8 upgrade has a functional purpose. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
systems. To start with, the chassis is upgraded with performance-tuned springs and dampers, up-rated bushings and thicker anti-roll bars, minimizing body roll and firming up the ride - but not so much that it punished driver or passengers in any way. New front suspension knuckles with added camber angle are also added, designed to help the SUV's W-rated Goodyear Eagle RS-A run-flat tires, measuring 255/45WR20 up front and 285/40WR20 in back, maintain optimal contact to the road. Additionally, the GC SRT8 has been lowered by about an inch (25 mm), not only making it look better, combined with its racy new aerodynamic add-ons, but reducing its centre of gravity while making it a little more slippery when pummeling the air. Jeep's engineers would have been not to have included stability control, for legal reasons alone, so therefore the GC's stock Bosch-sourced ESP (Electronic Stability Program) has been revised to allow greater driver input before cutting in to save the day.
