A former Car of the Day (COTD) was a vehicle I had the pleasure of owning. The requirements for this vehicle were it must be able to tow 5000lbs, carry 4 people and be as fast as possible.
The solution to this challenge was the 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Unlimited. By the time I was done tuning out the engine it had over 400lb-ft of torque at the wheels and all wheel drive. It was a beast at a short straight track. Here is some video of it beating a lot of different cars and drivers, including a Corvette!
1998 was the last year of the ZJ Grand Cherokee and the Chrysler executives needed to find a way to inject a bit of life into the final year of Grand Cherokee. They looked around and found that the 360 engine from the Dodge trucks could be crammed into their Jeep. It made for one heck of a sleeper. I have a lot of stories and thoughts about the 5.9 Jeeps and the 5.9 engines in future blogs.
It was the predecessor to the current SRT8 Grand Cherokee and a great car that I am happy I had the opportunity to enjoy for a season.
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1 0-60 in 4.3 Seconds | Car of the Day // Sep 11, 2008 at 9:26 pm
[…] then asked him “but can you hit 60mph in 4.8 seconds?” We lined up and I raced him in my 1998 Jeep. A 1998 Jeep really has no chance of running with an M3, but my Jeep had a little work done and […]