Jeep Trackhawk Takes On Widebody Challenger Hellcat In Drag Race
Hennessey Performance Engineering lined up a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and a Widebody Dodge Challenger Hellcat for a street drag race.
It’s a battle of all-wheel-drive versus rear-wheel drive. Who will win? Many of us were pretty stunned when Jeep decided to put a 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 motor under the hood of its Jeep Grand Cherokee. The result of this insanity is 707 horses and the ability to go from 0-60 miles per hour in just 3.5 seconds. How does all that power stand up to its Challenger sibling with the same amount of power?
In one corner we have the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. In the other, we see the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. Both are easily and arguably the most powerful cars produced in their respective segments.
To make the race fair and more interesting, both vehicles are powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged V8, which delivers a whopping 707 horsepower. Their torque figures are almost the same too. The Trackhawk has 645 lb-ft of torque, while the Challenger has 650 lb-ft. In case you are wondering, both cars are in fact stock – even the tires.
The biggest difference in this race is the traction and drive system of each vehicle. The Trackhawk provides superior traction from a standard all-wheel-drive system. The Hellcat Challenger, on the other hand, tends to make the rear wheels spin a lot before catching all its power.
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The Trackhawk is an entire full car length’s ahead before its opponent even passes the starting line. That is the type of move you want to rewind again and again to see.
From that jump start, the Grand Cherokee only continues to extend the gap between itself and the Challenger. Sending the Jeep’s full power to all four wheels makes an incredible difference in this race, as you will see below. Even though the SUV is obviously heavier than the muscle car, it reigns supreme here.
As if the cars’ 707 horses wasn’t enough, Hennessey is offering its famous HPE1000 package for the Jeep and Dodge. When installed, this kit will increase both vehicle’s powers to an insane 1,012 horsepower and 969 lb-ft of torque.
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These two vehicles are certainly mean and pack a lot of power to the punch. Did you expect that result just from hearing the models that were racing? Let us know your before and after thoughts below.