Jeep Grand Cherokee Cobra

For today’s vehicle, I present a homemade hybrid : the Jeep Grand Cherokee Cobra.  Of course, this isn’t any type of functional hybrid, but somebody took it upon themselves to appropriate some emblems from an SVT Cobra; two on the hatch, and one along each side of the vehicle on the front fenders for a total of four.  Somewhere in the world, there are probably four SVT Cobra owners scratching their heads and wondering who ran off with the grill ornaments from their cars.

My guess would be that the owner of this vehicle just likes the look of the cobra emblem and has no clue what it signifies other than a mean looking snake.  But would it be so bad to have a crossover vehicle combining these two very different vehicles?

Let’s start with the Jeep.  The Grand Cherokee was first sold as a 1993 model, but this one is from the years between 1999-2004.  We’ll even it out and call this a 2000 model to make things easy. The standard engine on a 2000 model was a 4.0L in line 6 cylinder that made 195HP and 230 lb ft of torque and was paired with a 4 speed automatic transmission.  You could buy one for around $27,000 and had a choice between rear wheel drive and 4x4. 

To keep things fair, let’s use a 2000 Ford SVT Cobra R for comparison.  It came with a 5.4L V8 tuned for 385HP and 385 lb ft of torque and a 6 speed manual transmission driving the car forward via rear wheel drive. 

Clearly, the Cobra is more powerful, but the Grand Cherokee does have some off road chops.  Seems like it might be kind of fun to combine the traits that these two vehicles offer.  What would you end up with if you combined the two?  Probably something like the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 that came out in 2005 with a 6.1L Hemi V8 stuffed under its hood with 420HP.  Better yet, take a look at the 2014 SRT-8 Jeep Grand Cherokee packs 470HP and 465 lb ft of torque courtesy of its 6.4L Hemi V8 and has a 5 speed automatic transmission that is probably overdue for a upgrade, it‘s 4x4 only with no rear wheel drive option.  It’s better suited for road driving than off roading, but can take on both in a hurry.  Maybe the guy who slapped some Cobra badges on his Jeep was onto something.