Jeeps are generally used as utilitarian, no-fuss runabouts for those in the country. But what if your daily runabout could smash a Ferrari at the drag strip? Well, that’s exactly what the owners of this insane Jeep wanted to discover.
Engine-swapping classic cars is nothing new, with owners wanting to make their classics more usable on a daily basis. In this instance, however, the owners of this Jeep have made it significantly less-usable, in a dramatic way.
Filmed for a Hoonigan AutoFocus episode with renowned photographer Larry Chen, this highly-tuned Jeep Cherokee from 1975 is one of the craziest Jeeps ever built.
Not only are the stats impressive, but so is the performance, with this 1970s Jeep feeling right at home on the drag strip.
Crazy customized Jeep Cherokee
Described as “very unique” by Larry, this jeep may look relatively normal from the outside (save for being significantly lowered) but under the hood it packs a punch.
In place of the standard motor is a 5.7l Hemi V8 engine with over 800hp. Not only has the engine been swapped, but also turbocharged, utilizing a set of compound turbos for added power. All told, this Cherokee is running 880hp! That’s more than most supercars on the market today.
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The owner admits the beauty is only skin-deep: “It’s basically a Jeep costume on [top of] a racecar.” The shell may be a Jeep, but the chassis underneath is incredibly over-engineered and modified, resulting in this incredible creation.
Inside, the interior is completely stripped out and race-prepared. With a lightweight bucket seat, full roll cage, and harnesses, the owner says it’s still perfectly usable as a normal car, and even gets 20mpg on the highway.
At the drag strip, the Jeep will do a 9.9x second pass over a quarter-mile run, reaching over 140mph. Anything under a 10-second pass is considered impressive on a quarter-mile strip. Therefore, for a 1970s Jeep to post such a time is shocking.
The best part about this crazy creation? At the end of the day at the drag strip or autocross, the owner can simply drive it home, with no need for a trailer. No doubt he embarrasses some much, much more expensive machinery on the way home too.
