Watch the High Performance Debut of the Jeep Trackhawk in NYC

The odds are good that if you are reading this, you know all of the vital details of the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. This is the quickest, the fastest and the most powerful gasoline-powered SUV in the world, with 707hp, 645lb-ft of torque, a 3.5 0-60 time, a quarter mile time of 11.6 and a top speed of 180 miles per hour. It is an amazing machine that will comfortably claims all of those titles mentioned above, but it will also tow 7,200lbs and seat five people.

It is, by basically every measure, the greatest high performance sport utility vehicle ever, and to introduce the Hellcat-powered Jeep to the media at the New York International Auto Show, FCA put together a formal debut which was fitting of the world’s most incredible performance SUV.

Trackhawk on the Dyno
The press conference debut of the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk started off like many other press conferences. Jeep boss Mike Manley spoke about the success of the Jeep brand overall and how the performance oriented Grand Cherokee has evolved over the years, all while a Trackhawk sat in the shadows at the edge of the stage, barely visible in the low lighting of the room.

After Manley had finished his lead in, he stepped back and let the Trackhawk do some talking of its own. The Jeep sitting in the shadows became the focus of the spotlights as it slowly elevated above the stage. However, it wasn’t just on a raised platform – it was on a 4-wheel dyno. This allowed the driver to run the Hellcat-powered Jeep hard through the gears, and even over the loud music and sound effects, we can hear the supercharger whine and the Hemi roar through the huge exhaust.

The driver first brings it up to cruising speed, holding there will information on the Trackhawk flashed on the large screen to the left. After about 50 seconds at cruising speed, the driver puts the hammer down – running the Hellcat Jeep wide open for ten seconds before coming back down through the gears.

The debut ends with a silver Trackhawk driving up onto the stage as Mike Manley returns to wrap up the introduction.

The sound of this video is a big part of the excitement, so make sure that you have your speakers cranked up when watching the formal debut of the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.

With any luck, this Hellcat-powered Jeep will lead to a Hellcat-powered Ram, which was also on display in New York.