2016 New York Motor Show: Jeep Hellcat is go for 2017

JEEP boss Mike Manley has confirmed the Hellcat-powered Grand Cherokee will go on sale in 2017 – and it’s expected to be called the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.

As revealed by Wheels last month, Jeep is well into the development of the new model, which picks up the most powerful V8 production engine ever produced in the United States, a 6.2-litre supercharged V8.

Speaking at the 2016 New York Motor Show, Manley said the Jeep Grand Cherokee Hellcat would appear around July 2017 in America.

Wheels sources have confirmed the car will be sold in Australia to sit above the Grand Cherokee SRT that is one of the fastest SUVs on the market.

“We talked about launching a higher performance vehicle which we’ll do next year which will feature the Hellcat engine,” said Manley, refusing to detail whether the car would get the full 527kW fury of the 6.2 supercharged V8 fitted to the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger Hellcats.

“It’s going to be plenty powerful.”

Manley confirmed it would not be called Hellcat, with the flagship Grand Cherokee expected to be badged Trackhawk.