Sam Krahn 
On paper, the Ford Explorer ST should have no business drag racing a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. 400 hp vs 707 hp. 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds vs 3.5. The list goes on. But if that Ford Explorer ST has has a tuned 3.0 liter twin turbo EcoBoost V6, the results are much, much closer. First covered by Motor1, a video from the @604streetlegit Instagram page proves that’s the case.
If there’s one thing this video proves, it’s that family haulers are now faster than they have any need or right to be. That being said, few things are cooler than dropping your kids off at school in an SUV that can run comfortably sub-12 second quarter miles, which both of them achieve.
But surprisingly, it’s the tuned Ford Explorer ST that edges out the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk in the race. The ST managed a 11.58 second run at 118.01 mph, while the Trackhawk was 11.65 seconds at 119.63. It’s obvious the Explorer got off the line quicker, but the Trackhawk was clearly catching it at the end. It’s unclear if this is down to reaction time or the vehicles themselves.
Also unclear is how the Explorer ST won. It obviously has some mods, but we have no definitive proof on what they are. One commenter on the post, a Loren Scott, has replied to a number of the comments asking what is under the hood of that Explorer. His response, the same in all replies, is as follows: “Tune, e85, fuel pump for e85, meth inj, down pipes exh and intercooler. Turbos are stock!”
While there isn’t anything to prove if the ST has these specific upgrades, the package seems like a fairly expected way to reach Hellcat levels of drag racing performance. And at the end of the day, it’s great to see a Ford Explorer capable of this kind of speed, rather than being the bland family crossover it once was.
