Grand Cherokee

Make
Jeep
Segment
SUV

It's the stuff of Greta Thunberg's nightmares. The Swedish environmental activist and Time Magazine's Person of the Year will not be impressed by the sight of a perfectly good Christmas tree not only being cut down but helplessly flailing about on the roof of an environmentally-unfriendly Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk V8 with over 1,000 horsepower.

The reason? Well, the guys at Hennessey Performance were at it again trying to set the record of "the world's fastest Christmas tree". Two years ago, they did the same thing with a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody and topped out at 174 mph.

This year, the team toppled that achievement and reached 181 mph in the Jeep. To add a bit more dazzle to the affair, this year's tree was festooned with Christmas lights before being strapped to the Jeep's roof. Tinsel and other decorations were wisely excluded as buttoning them down at over 180 mph would likely pose a few problems.

The sound of the Jeep's big V8 at these exorbitant speeds couldn't be further removed from a silent night and, at around the 02:53 mark in the video, the new record was reached. The pro driver with the honor of completing the job was Spencer Geswein who described the Jeep as "effortless" even at top speed. Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, meanwhile, provided an appropriate musical accompaniment to the spectacle.

The record was set at Uvalde Proving Grounds situated about 80 miles west of San Antonio, Texas. Typically used for new vehicle testing thanks to a year-round mild climate and a remote location, we're sure that the Jeep Trackhawk Christmas Tree Edition was one of the most unusual and festive visitors to these parts.