Trackhawk Puts BMW X4 M Through the Ringer, BMW Lashes Back
Trackhawk initially gets the leg up on the X4 M on an empty South African airstrip. What happens next is, well, interesting.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is about as American as apple pie and baseball. It’s large, it’s heavy, has a gigantic V8 crammed under the hood, and weighs a ton. Well, actually almost two and a half tons. It’s a car that doesn’t really have a place. It’s not practical, but it’s also not not practical. The Trackhawk is something that causes a lot of confusion and mixed feelings. All we know about the Trackhawk that’s indisputable is that fact that it’s fast. Very, very fast.
Two South African car reviewers from Cars.co.za, Ciro de Siena and Ashley Oldfield, take the Trackhawk where it can put its money where its mouth is. Naturally, the best way to wake the speed demon in the Jeep is to put it up against a car that could keep it on its toes. Siena and Oldfield did just that by lining up the Trackhawk with the BMX X4 M on an empty airstrip. Though, interestingly enough, it wasn’t Siena’s or Oldfield’s idea to race these two. It was FCA themselves.
“You guys may have seen our video where an Alfa Romeo lost to the BMW X4 M,” says Oldfield to the camera. “So, Fiat Chrysler Jeep said, ‘we may have an SUV that can beat your X4 M. So now, I’m in the Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk.”
Powerwise, these two SUVs are not at all equally matched. For starters, the BMW is short two cylinders from the Jeep with a 3.0 liter inline six. Though, it does also have two turbos – making the power figures a sturdy 382 hp and 365 lb ft of torque. Though, the Jeep lifts its leg on those numbers with the beefy, supercharged 6.2 liter Hellcat V8 that makes a jaw-dropping 707 hp and 645 lb ft of torque.
The only similarity these two sporty SUVs have in common is weight. The BMW weighs in at 2.3 tons, while the Jeep is 2.4 tons. At the line, Siena doesn’t feel well about the coming race.
“I’m in the BMW X4 M. But today, I’m taking on the world’s most powerful SUV. And I don’t think it’s going to go well. I have this feeling – I don’t think today is my day.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, Start your Engines!
Once the two collect themselves, they set up their cars for the first pass. For the Jeep, Oldfield claims that the launch control system the Trackhawk comes with is “trash.” And once digging around in the forums, found the the best way to launch the behemoth is to hold his foot on the brake and then mash the accelerator. Upon take off, Oldfield giggled like a piglet as the Trackhawk just about lifted off the airstrip from going so fast. After all, the Trackhawk’s 0-60 time is a stunning 3.2 seconds.
Naturally, the Trackhawk won the first pass, surprising no one. What did surprise the two though, was the fact that the BMW was incredibly close to its overqualified competitor. To keep the race clean, Oldfield and Siena switched cars, and lined up for a second pass.
“I don’t know if I can beat him in the Beemer,” says Oldfield. “But, this car is properly quick. It should be close.”
With the drivers in the new cars, neither is shocked with the Jeep pulls far ahead of the Beemer. In a stroke of luck, Oldfield finds himself slowly creeping up on the Trackhawk. At the last possible moment, the X4 M pulls just ahead of the Trackhawk to secure a victory for the second pass. Neither enthusiast is entirely sure how the BMW was able to beat the Jeep after switching drivers. What they are sure of, though, is that the Jeep leaves giant shoes to fill for other car makers.
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