Jeep Cherokee to get high-power SRT workup

Listen, there's no doubt that not everyone is sold on the radical, snarly new look of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. But one thing's for certain, its crimped-in-the-middle seven-slot grille and squinty headlamps will look decidedly intimidating filling up rearview mirrors nationwide – at least on upper-end models like the Trailhawk shown above. But the reborn Cherokee may well become even more intimidating if new rumors have a foundation in reality. According to the generally very-well-connected Chrysler fansite Allpar, an SRT variant is coming.

It's probably safe to assume that all-wheel drive and the company's new nine-speed automatic would be part of a high-performance Cherokee, but what gets wedged in the engine bay is a matter of discussion. Allpar hypothesizes about everything from a force-fed 3.0-liter Pentastar V6 with 375 to 410 horsepower (depending on whether it goes single or twin turbo), or even a 400+ horsepower application of the 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine from Maserati, but it's hard to envision the beancounters approving such a scenario. There's also the possibility of this Jeep getting a version of the company's 2.4-liter turbo four with 300 horsepower, but the 3.2-liter Pentastar V6 that will be available in the standard Cherokee already makes 271 horsepower, and SRT has a history of making sure its models have greater power differentials than such a drivetrain scenario would suggest.

High-power, road-biased utility vehicles are nothing new for Jeep (or the industry at large), but a Cherokee SRT would appear to have no natural competitive set to line up against. If the hi-po Cherokee gets the green light, it will be interesting to see whether that turns out to be an advantage or an impediment to the model's chances for success.

Courtesy of Auto Blog.