HENNESSEY GIVES THE JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE TRACKHAWK A FRIGHTFUL 1182BHP

Three tuning packages on offer by Hennesey can push your Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk's supercharged V8 output to a, quite frankly, frightening 1182bhp.

Those crazy Americans at Hennessey Performance have given, essentially, a pensioner steroids. Yup, in case you were wondering what I mean by that, remember that the chassis of the Grand Cherokee is still based on a 15-odd-year-old Mercedes Benz ML, and is arguably already on its limit with the current Trackhawk configuration.

Nevertheless, Hennessey remains unfazed and are offering packages in three states of tune for Jeep's family SUV. And we're not just talking a few horsepowers and new alloys, nope, the upgrades offer either 852bhp, 1012bhp or a brow-sweating 1182bhp. Consider this, right, the ‘world’s fastest SUV’, the Bentley Bentayga Speed, has a miserly 626bhp...

With that said, let's take a look at the packages. First up is the HPE850, this entry-level upgrade includes changes to the standard Trackhawk’s ECU, a new high-flow air intake system and an upgrade to the supercharger's pulley. Boost is up to 14psi and, combines, translates to 0-62mph in 2.9secs and a quarter mile of 10.9secs at 124 mph. For perspective, these figures are similar to that of the £2.2m Aston Martin Vulcan.

The middle-child of Hennessey's highly strung family of upgrades sits the HPE1000 that produces just over 1000bhp and 969lb ft of torque. This is achieved with upgrades to the fuel pump and a 4.5-litre supercharger. They've added high-flow fuel injectors, a new ECU and a high-flow air intake system among others. These mods get the 0-62mph sprint done in just 2.7seconds and the quarter mile arrives in 10.7secs at 132mph.

The big brother of these reprobates is their HPE1200 that delivers a 1183bhp, 1000lb ft punch to the face. A significant amount of modifications – over and above the same upgraded 4.5-litre supercharger from the HPE1000 package – include, among other things, new forged engine block internals, an upgraded pulley, a modified throttle body and new free-flow exhaust system.

Are you sitting down? Good. With these upgrades, the Hennessey Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk will go from zero to 62mph as quickly as a Bugatti Chiron. I'm not kidding. 2.3 seconds is all this family SUV needs to achieve this goal and requires just four extra seconds to cover the quarter mile, where it hits 145mph, and will keep accelerating to over 200mph.

Hennessey says they used drag radial rear tyres and a drag strip to achieve these figures so it's likely your stock rubber won't last very long but, if you can take on and beat hypercars between traffic lights then who cares, right?

Get in touch with Hennesey for prices if you're keen on making your Trailhawk an absolute monster and check out the video below to see their HPE1000 middle-child in action.