TriShield
07-16-2011, 10:28 AM
The 160-MPH Track and Tow Package
http://media.il.edmunds-media.com/jeep/grand-cherokee/2012/fd/2012_jeep_grand-cherokee_front_fd_712111_717.jpg
All-new from the ground up, the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8's styling is all function. The ducts in the lower fascia channel air over the front brakes.
By Josh Jacquot, Senior Road Test Editor | Published Jul 15, 2011
If the words "160-mph Jeep" don't raise a few hairs on the back of your neck we suggest you have your hair-raising reflexes checked. Because anyone who has driven a Jeep in the last 50 years recognizes that the brand isn't known for building vehicles that thrive at triple-digit velocities.
Until now.
Although we didn't witness the full 160-mph capability of the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, we did experience the insane SUV at full crack on Willow Springs Raceway, where we were able to corner the beast at more than 100 mph. And based on that quite dynamic experience, we find it likely that the new Jeep is a snoozer at 160 mph while traveling straight.
This, then, hardly seems like a Jeep at all.
Hauls the Mail
http://media.il.edmunds-media.com/jeep/grand-cherokee/2012/fd/2012_jeep_grand-cherokee_f34_fd_712111_717.jpg
LED lighting is standard on the Grand Cherokee SRT8. So are hood vents that allow hot air to escape from the engine compartment.
After all, what other Jeep have you cornered at 100 or so mph and — dare we say it — felt comfortable? The answer, for us at least, is none. Sure, the first-generation Grand Cherokee SRT8 was a serious machine. It made no apologies for being what it was — loud, fast, brash and, well, stiff as hell.
And this truck is also stiff. Even in Auto mode, where its adjustable suspension can choose its softest settings, it will, occasionally, rattle your fillings. But overall, the ride is compliant enough for daily use — even for our mother.
Yet here, in Turn 8 on Willow Springs Raceway, this thing is confident. Sure, it took us a few laps to adjust to the Jeep's height, which inevitably produces more pitch and yaw than a car, but we rapidly calibrated to its body movement and discovered that this beast sticks with pit bull determination.
The trick is to use the throttle at unorthodox times. This is not a textbook handler. Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that 65 percent of the available torque is going to the rear wheels in "Track" mode, the Jeep encourages midcorner adjustments with the throttle. And, near as we can tell, it won't make you pay with any unpleasant surprises. It's as stable as it is stubborn.
If there's anything that should shake our confidence it's bending a near 70-inch-tall, 5,150-pound SUV into a corner at more than 100 mph, but after a few laps it's just routine — almost as if this is an act physics can accept.
Target: Germany
http://media.il.edmunds-media.com/jeep/grand-cherokee/2012/fd/2012_jeep_grand-cherokee_whl_fd_712111_717.jpg
The Jeep's 20-inch wheels are forged. But in combination with the tire they still weigh 90 pounds each.
Talk to Jeff Roselli, the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8's lead development engineer, and it doesn't take long to figure out why the hairs on the back of your neck are standing proud. Among the litany of obscure facts Roselli offers are these: Its from-the-factory alignment includes 1.6 degrees of negative camber up front and 1.3 degrees out back. Its brakes, 15-inch rotors and six-piston Brembo calipers up front are the biggest in the SRT lineup — including those on the out-of-production Viper. Also, its steering ratio, at 17.5:1, is considerably quicker than that of a standard Grand Cherokee (variable, 18.9:1 on center).
It's almost as if the use of Chrysler's new 6.4-liter V8 is anticlimactic. Trust us, it is not. Although this is the same mill you'll find in every current SRT product, the 470 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque it porks out is not to be overlooked. Those figures are 50 hp and 45 lb-ft better than the 6.1-liter V8 it replaces. Chrysler's five-speed automatic transmission is still used and is still merely adequate at best.
And perhaps not so surprising is that the SRT team benchmarked BMW's X5 M as well as the outgoing Grand Cherokee SRT8 in the development of this SUV. Roselli says the Grand Cherokee platform is, in his opinion, a better starting point for a performance SUV than the X5. "It's an incredibly stiff platform," Roselli says. With 146 percent more torsional stiffness than the outgoing model, Roselli's team didn't need to add any additional bracing for the SRT version.
He acknowledges that the X5 M is a faster vehicle in a straight line because of its power advantage but, says Roselli, "The WK [Grand Cherokee] is a better-handling car than the X5 M. The Grand Cherokee — because it's an SRT product — can have its stability control fully defeated, which gives it a significant handling advantage." Also, he adds, "We've got more low-end torque. The WK will whip the X5 M through a slalom or in an autocross." Excellent news for those of you planning to autocross your 2.5-ton SUV.
"The Grand Cherokee is more brash, more involving," according to Roselli. "You can run it more out of shape and it doesn't mind."
http://media.il.edmunds-media.com/jeep/grand-cherokee/2012/fd/2012_jeep_grand-cherokee_front_fd_712111_717.jpg
All-new from the ground up, the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8's styling is all function. The ducts in the lower fascia channel air over the front brakes.
By Josh Jacquot, Senior Road Test Editor | Published Jul 15, 2011
If the words "160-mph Jeep" don't raise a few hairs on the back of your neck we suggest you have your hair-raising reflexes checked. Because anyone who has driven a Jeep in the last 50 years recognizes that the brand isn't known for building vehicles that thrive at triple-digit velocities.
Until now.
Although we didn't witness the full 160-mph capability of the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, we did experience the insane SUV at full crack on Willow Springs Raceway, where we were able to corner the beast at more than 100 mph. And based on that quite dynamic experience, we find it likely that the new Jeep is a snoozer at 160 mph while traveling straight.
This, then, hardly seems like a Jeep at all.
Hauls the Mail
http://media.il.edmunds-media.com/jeep/grand-cherokee/2012/fd/2012_jeep_grand-cherokee_f34_fd_712111_717.jpg
LED lighting is standard on the Grand Cherokee SRT8. So are hood vents that allow hot air to escape from the engine compartment.
After all, what other Jeep have you cornered at 100 or so mph and — dare we say it — felt comfortable? The answer, for us at least, is none. Sure, the first-generation Grand Cherokee SRT8 was a serious machine. It made no apologies for being what it was — loud, fast, brash and, well, stiff as hell.
And this truck is also stiff. Even in Auto mode, where its adjustable suspension can choose its softest settings, it will, occasionally, rattle your fillings. But overall, the ride is compliant enough for daily use — even for our mother.
Yet here, in Turn 8 on Willow Springs Raceway, this thing is confident. Sure, it took us a few laps to adjust to the Jeep's height, which inevitably produces more pitch and yaw than a car, but we rapidly calibrated to its body movement and discovered that this beast sticks with pit bull determination.
The trick is to use the throttle at unorthodox times. This is not a textbook handler. Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that 65 percent of the available torque is going to the rear wheels in "Track" mode, the Jeep encourages midcorner adjustments with the throttle. And, near as we can tell, it won't make you pay with any unpleasant surprises. It's as stable as it is stubborn.
If there's anything that should shake our confidence it's bending a near 70-inch-tall, 5,150-pound SUV into a corner at more than 100 mph, but after a few laps it's just routine — almost as if this is an act physics can accept.
Target: Germany
http://media.il.edmunds-media.com/jeep/grand-cherokee/2012/fd/2012_jeep_grand-cherokee_whl_fd_712111_717.jpg
The Jeep's 20-inch wheels are forged. But in combination with the tire they still weigh 90 pounds each.
Talk to Jeff Roselli, the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8's lead development engineer, and it doesn't take long to figure out why the hairs on the back of your neck are standing proud. Among the litany of obscure facts Roselli offers are these: Its from-the-factory alignment includes 1.6 degrees of negative camber up front and 1.3 degrees out back. Its brakes, 15-inch rotors and six-piston Brembo calipers up front are the biggest in the SRT lineup — including those on the out-of-production Viper. Also, its steering ratio, at 17.5:1, is considerably quicker than that of a standard Grand Cherokee (variable, 18.9:1 on center).
It's almost as if the use of Chrysler's new 6.4-liter V8 is anticlimactic. Trust us, it is not. Although this is the same mill you'll find in every current SRT product, the 470 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque it porks out is not to be overlooked. Those figures are 50 hp and 45 lb-ft better than the 6.1-liter V8 it replaces. Chrysler's five-speed automatic transmission is still used and is still merely adequate at best.
And perhaps not so surprising is that the SRT team benchmarked BMW's X5 M as well as the outgoing Grand Cherokee SRT8 in the development of this SUV. Roselli says the Grand Cherokee platform is, in his opinion, a better starting point for a performance SUV than the X5. "It's an incredibly stiff platform," Roselli says. With 146 percent more torsional stiffness than the outgoing model, Roselli's team didn't need to add any additional bracing for the SRT version.
He acknowledges that the X5 M is a faster vehicle in a straight line because of its power advantage but, says Roselli, "The WK [Grand Cherokee] is a better-handling car than the X5 M. The Grand Cherokee — because it's an SRT product — can have its stability control fully defeated, which gives it a significant handling advantage." Also, he adds, "We've got more low-end torque. The WK will whip the X5 M through a slalom or in an autocross." Excellent news for those of you planning to autocross your 2.5-ton SUV.
"The Grand Cherokee is more brash, more involving," according to Roselli. "You can run it more out of shape and it doesn't mind."