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First conceived and built in 1941 as a kind-of four-wheeled donkey for the U.S. military; the Jeep was one of the most instrumental and invaluable tools in the Allied arsenal-leading to the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in WWII.
The original Jeeps produced for the war effort by Willys-Overland Corporation and Ford Motor Company accounted for almost 20% of all military vehicles built by the U.S. during the war, with a total of almost 650,000 built and 30% being supplied to Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
At the end of hostilities in 1945, civilian Jeep models slowly became available and its war-winning reputation and capabilities led to other 4-wheel drive vehicles like the British Land Rover.
From the early ‘60s-on, Jeeps, like the CJ (Civilian Jeep)-series, had become as common a sight in suburban driveways as they were on the battlefield. By the ‘80s, models like the Wagoneer, Cherokee, Comanche, Laredo and Wrangler became the first SUVs on the market and continued growing in popularity.
For 1993, a new model, the Grand Cherokee debuted, replacing the Wagoneer. As its name so aptly implied, this mid-size SUV would become Jeep’s grandest offering for years to come. In it’s 1st-Gen form (1993-’98), the Grand Cherokee (ZJ) offered many modern standard features and an optional 5.2L V8 making decent power at 220-hp/285-300-lb-ft. Not the first Jeep to offer eight cylinders, it was however, a precursor of more to come.
By 1998, the top dog Grand Cherokee Limited, added the 5.9L/360-cid V8 to the options list. Now rated at 245-horses and only five less lb-ft then a C5 Corvette, at 345, it was obvious where things were headed.
Things got real interesting by the Grand Cherokee’s 3rd-Gen-(WK-2005-’10), with many Mercedes-like features and design cues coming from the Daimler/Chrysler ’99-’07 partnership. The top Jeeps mantra was now, not only about off-road ability, but also put emphasis on performance and upscale build-quality.
With that, the existing 4.7L V8 got a bump in power to 305-hp/334-lb-ft, but the real news was the availability of the optional 5.7L HEMI engine, rated at 325-357-hp/369-389lb-ft. This was serious power, but it was about to get even more serious.
Chrysler’s SRT (Street and Racing Technology) division definitely had muscle on the menu for upcoming Chrysler/Dodge offerings and the 2006-‘10 Grand Cherokee SRT8 was a tasty dish to say the least. Fitted with a non-Jeep-like, lowered suspension, big brakes and massive wheels/tires, SRT massaged the 5.7L HEMI to the tune of 6.1L/370-cid, and a whopping 420-hp/420-lb-ft.
The exclusive motor could hurl the almost two and a half-tons of fun AWD Jeep SRT8 to 60-mph in 4.5-seconds and through the traps in 13.5-ticks at 101-mph. These numbers weren’t just good, but bested Porsche’s Turbo Cayenne SUV at the time and were more than enough to school most modern day muscle cars of its day.
For it’s 4th-Gen, (WK2-2011-present), more power was bestowed upon the Grand Cherokee, with the 5.7L bumped to 360-hp/390-lb-ft and the SRT8 up-gunned with a 6.4L mill, good for a sports car-slaying 475-hp/470-lb-ft. Along with revised and aggressive styling inside and out, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 was definitely flirting with super car-I mean super SUV status.
For 2018, Chrysler/Jeep/SRT are about to unleash the Grand Cherokee “Trackhawk” with the Dodge Hellcat Challenger/Charger’s 6.2L-supercharged Hemi V8 engine, making 707-hp/645-lb-ft and capable of propelling the supreme Jeep to 60-mph in 3.5-seconds.
This latest-greatest and ultimate iteration of America’s favorite off-road vehicle is proof positive of the Jeeps eight-decade transformation from a war-winning utilitarian workhorse to a downright badass, hot-rodded street machine. Here’s to another 76-years of power and production. God Bless America…and SRT.
