Liam White 
The roaring Hellcat Era seems to be coming to an end. It doesn’t seem very long ago that reports echoed across the blogosphere that indicated an eventual return of the Hellcat-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk for the all-new WL generation. And it’s very likely that was the case. However, the latest news on the mark is that the Hellcat engine will not find itself under the hood of the next-generation Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, should there actually be one.
According to MoparInsiders, sources from within Stellantis have indicated that the Hellcat-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk will cease to exist at the end of this production year.
There’s even a final day of production scheduled for the WK2 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: Saturday, November 20th.
New Performance Recipe For WL Jeep Grand Cherokee
There could very well still be a WL Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk in the future. It would however mean that the Hellcat power plant will be ousted in favor of something smaller and more in line with Stellantis’ plan for electrification by 2024.
What might that look like? Possibly the “Tornado” turbocharged inline-six cylinder named the GME-T6, paired with a plug-in hybrid electric system. That being said, if the next iteration of the Trackhawk can’t hit 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, a quarter-mile run of 11.6 seconds, and/or a top speed of 180 mph, Stellantis might have to call it something else.
As it stands, the Grand Cherokee L has two engine options, the Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 and the Hemi 5.7-liter V-8. We’re also expecting to see a Grand Cherokee 4xe soon thanks to spy shots covered back in April. Expectations were originally that it would be the same 2.0L plug-in hybrid powerplant found in the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, but other reports have indicated that it could actually be a Tornado-six hybrid.
The End Of The Hellcat Era Is Drawing Near
As a vehicle known to pull buyers out of supercars such as the Nissan GT-R, the Hellcat-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was at one point the most powerful SUV in the world, shadowed only by the 710 horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, which will exist only for the 2021 model year at a limited quantity of just 3,000 units.
The news of Jeep ditching the Hellcat V8 is indeed a paradoxical sign of the times. On one end, legislators are forcing the hands of Stellantis, GM, Ford and other automakers to walk away from V8 engines; a core competency among all Detroit Three automakers. On the other, demand for V8-powered cars, trucks and SUVs seems to have reached fever pitch, as customers seem to be seeking them all out while they still have the chance. And the choice.
