Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 nearly sold out in Australia
The end of the road is imminent for the V8-engined Jeep in Australia, as the last Grand Cherokee V8s roll off the assembly line – with no replacement in sight.
Stock of the V8-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee in Australia has dwindled into double-digit territory – and with no next-generation equivalent in sight, it may mark the last of its kind Down Under.
Drive understands fewer than 50 examples of the Jeep Grand Cherokee S-Limited remain in local showrooms with the optional 5.7-litre ‘Hemi’ petrol V8 – with the last of the high-performance SRT and Trackhawk V8 variants selling out last year.
The current Jeep Grand Cherokee will be succeeded later this year by an all-new model, available with five or seven seats – but a V8 engine isn’t expected to form part of the line-up, the first time since 1999 that Jeep hasn’t offered a V8 in Australia.
MORE: Australia’s last V8s under $100,000 in 2022
Instead, the majority of the range is slated to be powered by a familiar 3.6-litre petrol V6, developing 210kW and 344Nm – a departure from the 259kW/520Nm 5.7-litre petrol V8 of the outgoing S-Limited grade, or the 266kW/529Nm version of the V8 in the new-generation model in the US.
The five-seat model will be available with the option of a ‘4xe’ plug-in hybrid, developing approximately 280kW and 637Nm from a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder and two electric motors.
Alongside the V8, the end of the current Jeep Grand Cherokee will also see the departure of diesel, citing slowing sales overseas and the onset of electrification – click here to read more.
Jeep dealers contacted by Drive confirmed production of the current, soon-to-be-replaced Grand Cherokee has ended for Australia, with only a limited number of examples still en route to Australian shores.
The V8-powered Jeep made its debut in Australia in the early 1980s, with eight cylinders fitted under the bonnet of the Cherokee SUV and J20 utes.
A V8 was introduced in the Grand Cherokee large SUV in 1999, and remained for the next three generations – culminating in the 6.2-litre supercharged Trackhawk model, which became the most powerful SUV on sale in Australia.
Whereas the original Cherokee’s 5.9-litre V8 struggled to muster much more than 100kW – and the 1999 Grand Cherokee’s 4.7-litre V8 quoted 162kW – the Trackhawk was capable of 522kW and 868Nm.
Prices started from $74,450 before on-road costs for the S-Limited – with the optional 5.7-litre V8, a no-cost extra – increasing to $97,450 for the 6.4-litre SRT, or $140,450 for the 6.2-litre supercharged Trackhawk.
Successors to the SRT and Trackhawk V8s are yet to be confirmed, however Jeep’s parent company Stellantis is developing a new 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged inline-six reportedly capable of up to 392kW, with plug-in hybrid power available.
Only four vehicles remain on sale with a V8 engine under $100,000 – down from seven a year ago. Click here for the full story.
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