Hellcat-Powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Should Be Unveiled at New York Auto Show
This is a big year for Jeep. It’ll be showing us what the new Compass can do this week. The next-generation Wrangler is coming later this year. And if word on the street is correct, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk will debut at the New York Auto Show in April.
That’s what our friends atMotor Authority heard from a reliable source. There’s always a chance factory images of the Hellcat-powered Grand Cherokee will be officially released or leaked out before then, of course. But the Big Apple event will be the source of a lot of in-depth videos, photos, and interviews that you won’t see anywhere on the FCA site.
When contacted for comment, FCA replied with their usual response: “We can’t comment or speculate on future product.” However, they followed that up with, “Please stay tuned.” We’re used to just hearing the first part — a lot. That second sentence sounds like a hint to us. And perhaps a faint suggestion that there is indeed something big from Jeep on its way to the Empire State. (Dodge will be there with its new Challenger SRT Demon, which should outdo, outgun, and outgrip the already ridiculously-powerful Hellcat Challenger. Believe it or not, that is possible.)
We’ll have to wait to find out just how big the numbers are from the Trackhawk’s supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat engine. Can Jeep’s engineers keep all 707 horses in it? Or will they have to mildly detune to keep the Trackhawk from violently molting some of its drivetrain components? We should know in less than two months. Either way, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is going to be an absolute animal, just as the names Hellcat and Trackhawk imply.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
