Grand Cherokee SRT

Make
Jeep
Segment
SUV

American and Australia share a love for powerful V8 engines, muscle cars, trucks and SUVs, and off-roading. They're kindred gearhead spirits. So it should come as no surprise that Australians fell madly in love with the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Powered by the 6.4-liter Hemi and supercharged Hellcat, respectively, this pair of hot rod SUVs are still on sale in the US, but that's not the case Down Under.

According to WhichCar, both have sold out in Australia and the reality of the situation is that they're gone forever. The next-generation Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L will go on sale in the coming months, likely by the end of this year.

It's only a matter of time until production concludes for all variants of the outgoing generation. It's highly unlikely Australia will receive another shipment for either one. The official Australian Jeep website has already deleted both performance SUVs. But there's also another factor at play that could help explain why Australia ran out of stock prematurely. The ongoing semiconductor chip shortage probably played some role in this.

The Jefferson North plant in Detroit will continue to reduce workers' schedules this month due to the lack of chips to complete vehicle assembly. Horsepower-hungry Australians can still get the Hemi-powered Grand Cherokee S-Limited, though it too will eventually run out of stock.

It's still too soon to know whether there'll be a next-generation SRT and/or Trackhawk, though the new generation is certainly capable of handling lots of power. The new Grand Cherokee, codenamed WL, rides on the Giorgio platform that underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio. Both can be equipped with a Ferrari-derived 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 with 505 hp.

Although Jeep parent company Stellantis just announced the Giorgio architecture's retirement, the new Grand Cherokee will still retain it for the next several years. If Jeep were to do another high-performance Grand Cherokee, it's a foregone conclusion electrification will play a significant role.