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You know the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, that 710bhp 6.2-litre V8 thing we put up against the Suzuki Jimny in our May Issue? Well, it has now set a record as mad as it is – the fastest SUV driven on ice.

It took place at the Baikal Ice Motor Sports Festival, in Russia (shock) where the Trackhawk was made lighter, and ran only with a certain amount of fuel onboard.

All runs were undertaken within the regulations of the Russian Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, with an average speed measured calculated over 1km from both a rolling and a standing start.

In daylight the frozen lake is covered in a thin layer of surface water, so the work was cut out for the Quadra-Trac on-demand four-wheel drive setup. But, despite this, the Trackhawk achieved an average of 160mph with a rolling start, and still peaking over 60 from a standing start. To account for the requisite acceleration and deceleration the total length of the course is 12km, whilst the GPS trackers clocked the peak speed at 174mph – just six digits below the Jeep’s top speed on land!

We think the Trackhawk is a brilliant dose of insanity, but pushing this close to the limit on ice really is something else.

The new Jeep Wrangler is very good. We drove it not long back and were very impressed. And now, we have all-important details on pricing.

Entry level Sahara variants begin at £44,495 in two door variant, with the price rising by £1,500 for the additional two doors.

Two and four-door Overland variants cost from £46,495 £47,995 respectively – the same as the Rubicon variants.

All of the new Wranglers will be covered by Jeeps 5-3-5 pledge (five-years warranty, three-years servicing and five-years roadside assistance) and they go on sale on the 13th October. Initially only the 2.2-litre MultiJet II engine will be on offer, but the 2.0-litre petrol will join the line-up later in the year.

To recap all the details of the new Wrangler, click here.

We’ve known that the new Jeep Wrangler was coming for a long time now. And now Jeep have detailed the specs that will hit the European market.

The headlines feature two four-wheel drive systems, two brand-new engines, updated tech and security systems and they will be in showrooms come September.

Both two and four-door body styles will be ready at launch, with roofing options and doors removable, plus a fold-down windscreen offering true open-air adventure.

Off-road ability is what underpins the very nature of the Wrangler. Whether it’s for image or practice, that is why Jeep’s halo vehicle is adored. To continue in true Wrangler style, there are two off-road systems within the range. Command-Trac is present on both Sport and Sahara trims, whilst Rock-Trac is the system on Rubicon models.

Command-Trac comprises of heavy duty Dana axles, a two-speed transfer case with 2.72:1 low-range gear ratio, plus four driving modes: 2WD high, full-time 4WD, part-time 4WD and low-range 4WD. The shift between high ratio 2WD and 4WD can be made at speeds up to 44mph. Tru-Lok electric lockable axles are standard, and a rear limited slip-diff is available as an option. On Rubicon models, Roc-Trac adds next-gen Dana 44 axles and electric sway-bar disconnect, and gets lockable axles, too.

Every Wrangler will receive Jeep’s Trail Rated badge, which means skid plates and rear tow hooks, up to 76cm of wade depth and 1,500kg and 2,500kg towing capacities for two and four-door models respectively.

A new eight-speed automatic transmission is the only gearbox offered with the new model, but it has been tailored specifically to the Wrangler and to off-road driving.

Two new engines sees a petrol and a diesel option, but the V6 Pentastar won’t be an option. The new petrol 2.0-litre turbo’d inline four offers 272hp at 5,250 rpm, whilst 295lbf.ft comes in at 3,000 rpm. Stop-start features as standard on the new unit, which features a twin-scroll turbo, double over head camshafts and a cooled EGR system. The other new unit is a 2.2-litre turbodiesel MultiJet II unit. This offers less power – 200hp – but trumps the petrol for torque lower down – 331lbf.ft at 2,000 rpm.

Jeep have looked to improve the Wrangler’s on-road behaviour, with a body-on-frame structure with a five-link suspension setup. Aluminium and Magnesium both feature in the body to reduce weight but retain strength.

The five-link coil system remains in tact but has been tweaked to improve comfort on the road.

Jeeps Uconnect system features with the fourth-gen infotainment available on either 5″, 7″ or 8.4″ touchscreens screens – the biggest of which adds Uconnect Live services. These include live TomTom navigation, web radio, Deezer streaming, Reuters news updates, plus Facebook and Twitter capabilities. Oh, it also has dedicated off-road programming that shows pitch and roll angles and diff-locking.

Safety tech includes blind-spot warning, rear cross-path detection, parking sensors both front and back with a rear camera, electronic stability control and roll mitigation, plus four standard airbags.

It will come as no surprise that there are upwards of 180 official Mopar accessories available for the new Wrangler when it launches. The Sahara spec Wrangler will also have two factory customisation packs. The Off-Road choice adds a 2″ lift, 17″ off-road wheels, ‘1941’ and ‘Moad’ body graphics plus splashguards, a mesh bikini, snorkel and off-road windscreen lights. The second choice is Urban, consisting of chrome detailing of the side steps, fuel door and doors sills, plus a tyre cover, ‘1941’ decal and Granite Crystal paint.

Pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet for the Wrangler, but we do know it’ll be hitting showrooms later this year.

Miss our first impressions of the new Wrangler? Catch up here!

 

FCA have this morning outlined their latest Five Year Plan, and it focuses on it’s best-selling marques. You may have guessed that Jeep is one of them, and it is set to have nine new or refreshed vehicles by 2022. The presentation pencilled in an exciting new DesertHawk badge for high-speed sand coverage due in a couple of years.

Plans for the brand outline a brand-new A-segment baby SUV, filling the presently vacant rung below the Renegade, which will be replaced by an all-new version.

C-segment vehicles will remain as the Wrangler and the Compass – the latter of which will be refreshed – whilst the D-segment will see a new Cherokee, plus new entrants of a 3-row SUV and the long anticipated truck.

Above them a two-row Grand Cherokee will sit alongside an E-seg three-row, and in the category above Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models will return.

Each of the vehicles in the plan will come with plug-in hybrid as an option, and hybrid and electric power will replace diesel engines in Jeep vehicles by 2022. The brand intends to offer 10 PHEV models and four purely electric. Autonomous features will grow into the range over the next five years, with level 3 autonomy expected by 2021. European targets are set at nine PHEVs and five mild hybrids.

Only the latest JL Wrangler will remain as it is on the current European line-up.

It was also announced that FCA plan for the Ram Trucks brand to also grow, with a production Ram TRX off-road pick-up, a new mid-sized pick-up to compete with the Ford Ranger et al, plus new versions of the Ram 1500 and Heavy Duty models.

 

Mopar, the servicing and customer care division of Fiat-Chrysler has announced their Auto Service Finance initiative. Following research that revealed more than half of motorists in the UK can’t afford a bill of £500 for a repair upfront.

Jeep, Fiat, Dodge and Alfa Romeo drivers can get genuine parts from the Mopar UK network and can apply for six months of interest free instalments. The Auto Service Finance can be used to cover costs for repairs, service contracts, accident damage and accessories.