Jeep Leaves Dirt Behind

The Age

Wednesday April 27, 2005

Chris Jensen

The US off-road specialist has built a super-quick 4WD that is built for on-road performance, writes Chris Jensen.

THE US off-road icon Jeep, a brand that once said it would never build a vehicle that couldn't handle truly rough terrain, has surrendered to demand for fast faux four-wheel-drives and produced one to compete with Porsche's turbocharged Cayenne and the high-powered BMW X5 4.8i. And it's coming to Australia.

It has been built by the same people responsible for the Dodge Viper supercar and will give the Cayenne Turbo - the world's fastest 4WD - a serious run for its money, with a claimed zero to 100 km/h time of less than five seconds.

Developed by the Street and Racing Technology group at Chrysler, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 is a startling departure from Jeep tradition, which has been to develop vehicles primarily concerned with plodding off-road performance.

Faced with increasing competition and an American public more concerned with on-road behaviour, that strategy was weakened last year with the redesigned Grand Cherokee, which for the first time got an independent front suspension.

Now the link to the rugged past weakens a bit more with the introduction of the Grand Cherokee SRT8, powered by a 6.1-litre Hemi rated at 318 kW - 71 kW more than the regular 5.7-litre Hemi-powered Grand Cherokee. It is also expected to have 569 Nm of torque, compared to 509 Nm with the 5.7-litre Hemi.

"There are performance enthusiasts in every market segment and those are the people to whom the SRT Jeep is aimed," says SRT director Dan Knott.

The company says the fastest Jeep will go from zero to 160 km/h and back to zero in about 19 seconds, while getting from zero to 100 km/h in less than five seconds. Not bad for a vehicle with a kerb weight expected to be almost 2.2 tonnes.

The power-to-pavement transfer happens via a full-time, all-wheel-drive system with the front wheels getting 5 to 10 per cent under normal driving. More can be moved up front if needed. Not surprisingly, the transfer case and suspension have been upgraded to handle the extra power. Brembo brakes are added, the vehicle has been lowered 2.5 cm and the standard wheel is now a 20-inch, all-season run flat (up from a 17-inch).

The Grand Cherokee SRT8 gives Jeep the chance to take advantage of its SRT operation and the popularity of the Hemi, says Jeff Brodoski, an auto analyst with J D Power and Associates. It also makes some sense, since advertising for the new Grand Cherokee has put more emphasis on its on-road performance.

A few hardcore Jeep enthusiasts may be disappointed, Mr Brodoski says, but he believes the new model will probably attract other buyers who hadn't considered Jeep and it is unlikely to hurt the brand because the SRT8 model still ties into Jeep's masculine image.

© 2005 The Age

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