We love stunts, as long as they’re not cringeworthy
Jeep's Grand Cherokee SRT goes against a Hemi-powered hot rod on the Santa Pod drag strip but, in our view, the performance SUV tries too hard to be cool.
The idea came from Jeep’s UK marketing department, which apparently believes the Grand Cherokee SRT can race anything, from a hot rod to an acrobatic plane. So why not some of its rivals, eh?
The answer here would probably be that the Jeep Grand Cherokee does not have proper rivals; there are powerful SUVs in this world, but they’re asking a bunch of money for that chubby performance package. With the Trackhawk, the Grand Cherokee sure played its trump card in the powerful SUVs segment.
Anyhow, let’s get back to this clip showing a race between two Hemi-powered machines. One is, of course, the 6.4-liter V8 underneath the Grand Cherokee SRT’s hood, packing 468 hp, while in the opposite corner there’s a 330 cu-in (5.4 liters) “DeSoto Hemi” V8 with 304 hp. There are obvious differences between the two, and we’re not talking about visuals. For example, as the clip states, the Grand Cherokee SRT launches to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds (5.0 seconds on non-prepped asphalt) while the Hot Rod Coupé does it in 6.0 seconds. The hot rod is underpowered but also a lot lighter — we only assume this, as we’re not told the cars’ weights.
And then, it’s the montage — it has so many cuts it will make your head hurt. Trying to create drama just by showing tenth-of-a-second-long scenes might not be such a good idea after all. Also, why would the drama be even a thing here? It is pretty clear the cars had many runs on the drag strip — over a two-second period, we are told two different times. The coupé runs the quarter mile in 14.2 seconds, at 95 mph — although in the previous frame, the hot rod crosses the finish line after 14.9 seconds @ 89 mph.
Bottom line: Jeep tried to set up a drag strip duel between two Hemi-powered vehicles, and failed; the beauty of drag racing is not represented by fast-paced images but rather by numbers. In drag racing, numbers are not negotiable. Had it been a short (with a bit longer scenes) documentary or showcase of the two engines, everyone would have been more satisfied in the end. But that's just our two cents.