The American SUV That Used A Supercharged V8 To Hunt Sports Cars
Here at HotCars we have a special affinity for sleeper cars because there is something uniquely cool about a mundane-looking ride that’s packing some serious power under its unassuming hood. Whether it be a station wagon hiding a powerful big-block or a family sedan with a turbocharged secret, sleepers rock because their plain appearance and fearsome power take people by surprise. Dodge probably invented the sleeper car with the 1966 Coronet Deluxe four-door sedan that unexpectedly came equipped with 426 Street Hemi V8s, pairing the mightiest engine of the Golden Age of American Muscle with the least attractive vehicle possible. Mopar would redefine the sleeper ride in the Modern Age with a family-friendly SUV harboring a 700+ horsepower supercharged V8 that dispatched sports cars at will and sent them out its quad exhaust.
Jeep Cherokee Proto Sport Ute
Before getting to the mutha of all sleeper rides, we need to understand the ingredients that went into it, and the first part of that recipe is the origin story of the SUV. The 1963 Jeep Wagoneer is widely considered the first SUV, and the 1966 Ford Bronco has retroactively been named one of the early examples, but it was the 1974 Jeep Cherokee that first used the words “Sport Utility Vehicle” in marketing literature, so if you coin the term, you own it. The Cherokee was actually an attempt at appealing to younger buyers with a sportier design than the Jeepster Commando, which it effectively replaced. Maybe the biggest advance was the Quadra-Trac full-time 4WD system that utilized a controlled-slip center differential to distribute power between the axles, which responded to changing traction conditions. Modern SUVs are generally all-wheel-drive, and that started with the ’74 Cherokee.
Cherokee Arrives in Grand Fashion
The Jeep Cherokee proved successful and carried on through the brand ownership passage from AMC to the Chrysler Corporation. In 1992, Chrysler developed an upscale version known as the Grand Cherokee that retained the impressive off-road capabilities of the original, in a refined package loaded with features. No other vehicle has had a better debut than the Grand Cherokee, which, at the 1992 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, was driven through the convention center entrance, up a flight of stairs, and through a plate-glass window before arriving on the showroom floor. Hitting dealers for the 1993 model year, the Grand Cherokee was the blueprint for modern SUVs, with luxury and comfort that appealed to families, while retaining its ruggedness which attracted the 4×4 crowd.
Hemi Unleashes Hell
In the Modern Muscle Car Age, there was a fierce Horsepower War that saw the American automakers trying to outdo each other with increasingly powerful rides, much to the delight of enthusiasts. The war was effectively won by Dodge in 2015 with the release of the Challenger SRT Hellcat, which featured the 707-horsepower 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi Hellcat V8. The 580 hp of the Chevrolet Camaro’s 6.2-liter supercharged V8, as well as the Ford Shelby GT500 with a 662-horsepower 5.8-liter supercharged engine, were both impressive, but weak in comparison to the Hellcat. With the origin story of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the emergence of the unholy Hemi Hellcat, we’re now up to speed on the elements that made up the ultimate sleeper ride, that will never be surpassed.
Supercharged Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk
Besides the fact that they’ve always made the most formidable cars, one of the greatest things about Mopar is that they constantly do things not because they should, but because they can. The 426 Hemi was a race engine that was never meant for the street, but Ford got it temporarily banned from NASCAR, so Chrysler homologated it by making it available to every Dodge and Plymouth intermediate vehicle. A couple of years later, they shoehorned the Hemi under the hoods of compact Darts and Barracudas, creating terrifyingly powerful 10-second cars most people should never get behind the wheel of. Continuing that tradition of reckless awesomeness, some mad genius at Chrysler came up with the idea of equipping the 2018 Grand Cherokee with a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi Hellcat V8, making for one of the most outrageous rides ever conceived.
Though it’s been nearly a decade since the Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk first appeared, it’s still kind of hard to believe it was an actual thing. It was an 11-second all-wheel-drive factory ride that sat five with a 7,200-pound towing capacity, which is pure insanity in the most beautiful way possible, giving it an almost surreal quality. Jeep didn’t just cram a 707-horsepower Hellcat into the Trackhawk’s engine bay, they upgraded nearly everything because that kind of power would tear a normal vehicle apart. The Trackhawk got upgrades in the suspension, brakes, drivetrain components, transfer case, axles, and transmission, guaranteeing that this sleeper was going to wake some suckers up. Of course, this was still an upscale SUV, so it also came loaded with features like an 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen infotainment system, driver assists, and leather-appointed creature comforts.
Family Ride Powered by Hellfire
The Trackhawk’s 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 isn’t just a Hemi with a supercharger bolted on, as it was completely redesigned for strength and durability. With a high-strength cast-iron block, forged steel crankshaft, forged powdered-metal connecting rods, and forged aluminum pistons, this engine was built to handle the demands of the IHI 2.4-liter twin-screw supercharger and its 11.6 psi of boost. On premium 91-octane fuel, the Trackhawk Hellcat produces an astounding 707 hp and 645 lb-ft of torque, which is impressive for a drag car, but remarkable in a family ride. It’s a guarantee that, with this as a daily driver, the kids are never going to be late for soccer practice, but there is one potential downside. Nobody is going to buy a vehicle this powerful and never use it, so it’s basically a moving violation magnet, but if someone has Hellcat money they can also afford an occasional speeding ticket.
Sports Car Assassin
Nobody driving a C6 Corvette Z06 pulled up next to a Jeep Grand Cherokee at a red light and thought they were about to get smoked, but the Trackhawk is actually the car to do it. With a 3.5-second 0-60 time, 11.6-second quarter-mile, and 180 MPH top speed, the supercharged SUV is a literal sports car killer. The grilles of the Porsche 911 Carrera, BMW M4, Mercedes-Benz AMG GT, and McLaren 570S are hanging above the mantle of the Trackhawk’s garage as trophies from successful hunts. As an all-wheel-drive vehicle, the Trackhawk can really stick a take-off, and it comes with Launch Control that spools up the supercharger for instant torque, which is why a 5,300-pound vehicle can blister so many high-performance rides.
SRT Trackhawk Production
The 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk came with an $85,900 MSRP, but with the destination charge, tax, and options, it was realistically a $92,000–$100,000 set of wheels, and while it was certainly impressive, that’s not a price point for everyone. As such, it was a limited edition across its four years of production, but nobody outside Stellantis knows how rare it really is. Jeep has never released the production numbers, but best estimates put it at 5,000 units in 2018, 4,000 in 2019, 2,000 in 2020, and maybe 1,600 in its final year of 2021. The Trackhawk wasn’t discontinued due to a lack of popularity but rather because it was such a gas guzzler that it was killing Jeep’s CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) emissions standard. It’s the same basic reason Dodge killed off the gas-powered Challenger and Charger in 2023.
The Other Hellcat SUV
In 2021, the sleeper SUV segment got a little more family-friendly with the three-row Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat. Featuring the same 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 as the Trackhawk, the Durango SRT Hellcat actually produced three more ponies for a 710 horsepower rating. It was also a bit quicker, with a 3.5-second 0–60, an 11.5-second quarter-mile, and the same top speed of 180 mph, despite being about 100 pounds heavier. It also came with a slightly nicer price, starting at $80,955, which is more like $82,490 to get it off the lot. Though the Durango SRT Hellcat has been rumored to be on the chopping block, it is still in production today, where it reigns as the king of the sleeper rides, though with those bold racing stripes, hood scoop, and apocalyptic Hellcat engine note, it’s probably not taking anyone by surprise at this point.
Trucking’ It With a Hemi Hellcat
When Chrysler introduced the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi Hellcat V8 in 2015, it was specifically for the Dodge Challenger and Charger to kick all the ass on the street, but as we’ve seen, all the other divisions felt like they should have access to it as well. In 2021, Ram finally got ahold of it and crammed it under the hood of a 1500 pickup, creating the TRX supertruck, which completely blew away the 1500 SRT-10 with a freakin’ Viper engine. With five fewer ponies, the TRX’s acceleration numbers were a full second slower than the Trackhawk or Durango SRT Hellcat, but it was meant as an off-road beast, which it most certainly was, and not a street machine. For the paved surfaces, the Ram 1500 Rumble Bee is making a comeback for the 2027 model year with an SRT Hellcat version. The 6.2-liter supercharged V8 will produce up to 777 hp, and Dodge is confident that this full-size truck will devour a quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds.
Trackhawk Value And Collectibility
It hasn’t even been 10 years since the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk was introduced and only five years since it was discontinued, but the supercharged SUV was an instant classic that’s already got collectors in a frenzy. People knew this vehicle was special out of the gate, and many of them were bought as investments, which is evident from how many low-to-no-mileage vehicles are up for auction. $110,000 seems to be the going price at a Mecum auction, as they’ve had four Trackhawks hit that amount, with a high bid of $120,000. It turns out Bring A Trailer is the place to be for serious Trackhawk money, as the auction site has listed 52 of them, many selling for well over the $100,000 mark. The top seller on Bring a Trailer is a 585-mile 2021 Trackhawk that sold for $130,000 in 2026, representing roughly a $40,000 profit in just five years — not bad at all.
Sources: Bring a Trailer, Mecum, Dodge, Jeep
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