A McLaren 570S Vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Drag Race Shouldn’t Be Possible

Hennessey Performance has no shortage of new high-performance models to mess around with, but the Texas tuning shop has been particularly enamored with the über-Jeep of late. We are too, of course—what's not to love about a Jeep with a Hellcat engine burning rubber with all four wheels?

Utter ridiculousness aside, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is also impressive in the way it seems to defy the laws of physics and aerodynamics. A 5,000-pound brick should not be able to rocket from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, but here we are. The ability to walk a lot of very expensive sports cars in a big old SUV is worth the price of admission. But if we extend the playing field a little bit, can the Trackhawk stay ahead of something as low and lithe as the McLaren 570S?

Hennessey set up two drag races to find out, one using the vehicles' launch control features and one without. In both cases, the Jeep's all-wheel-drive system helps it scoot off the line quicker than the rear-wheel-drive McLaren—it actually gains a sizable lead in the non-launch-control race—but aerodynamics win out in the end. The 570S crosses the line first both times, and the Jeep is vanquished.

Or is it? If you believe the Trackhawk is a waste of time, energy, and money, this probably won't change your mind. But we still think it's remarkable that a drag race between a factory Jeep and a six-figure supercar is worthy of a conversation, and it shows there's still some fun to be had out there before they take our steering wheels away.