Yahoo Autos 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk at Lightning Lap 2018
Lap Time: 3:06.9
Class: LLTruck | Base Price: $88,590 | As-Tested Price: $91,580
Power and Weight: 707 hp • 5337 lb • 7.5 lb/hp
Tires: Pirelli P Zero Run Flat, 295/45ZR-20 (110Y)
Here’s some fun math: This Jeep’s 1526-pound left-front corner is heavier than the entire front end of every one of our LL5 competitors this year, the heaviest of which is the Lamborghini Huracán Performante’s at 1509 pounds. The Trackhawk’s 5337-pound curb weight makes it the heaviest vehicle we’ve ever lapped at VIR and one of only five Lightning Lap contenders to break the 2.5-ton barrier. FCA’s engineers certainly had their work cut out in making good on the Trackhawk billing.
And though we had to be careful to get the most out of the big Jeep, what it accomplishes given its weight, height, and original design intent is astonishing. This Hellcat-engined ute has an amazing ability to rotate in tight, low-speed corners. Witness the 90-degree left after NASCAR Bend, where the Trackhawk’s brake-based torque vectoring helps it go where its wheels are pointed and not where inertia might prefer. Its brake pedal softens but recovers between sessions and remains effective after multiple hot laps.
At 117.6 mph, it’s faster through the Climbing Esses than the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS and only 0.1 mph slower than the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. But it scrubs off 22.5 mph in this left-right-left-right combination, revealing that physics, as always, still calls the shots. Like the Challenger, the Trackhawk needs to be nursed through corners. Failing that, it’s utterly indifferent to dropping a tire off the track, as we did in the 75.4-mph left after those esses.
There is no subtlety here. No real precision. Just big inputs returning big speed and big noise. The Jeep’s appeal is plain and not any deeper than what you see-which seems perfectly acceptable for a 707-hp SUV made for lapping a racetrack.
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