Jeep Trackhawk Drag Races Audi RS Q8, Somebody Gets Walked

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was engineered to set drag racing records, just like its Mopar brothers from Dodge. Unfortunately, that means it has to compete with the growing number of German performance SUVs, which include the Audi RS Q8.

At first glance, these don’t look like they can compete. The Audi looks brand new, with its carbon fiber inserts and sharp LEDs. However, it’s only the second RS SUV ever made, and we know it’s not the quickest in the class.

Meanwhile, the Trackhawk is technically out of production – that’s how old it is. But Americans have been racing their Jeeps for a really long time. This isn’t in America, though.

The empty concrete runway may be familiar to you. It’s where YouTube channel Carwow does its popular drag race video. Chances are that this one is going to get millions of views, with many fans on either side of the barricades arguing about the results. And while we don’t think these are ideal drag racing conditions, the results are interesting.

As you probably already know, the Trackhawk is the displacement king here. It has a 6.2-liter V8 that’s been supercharged to make 707 horsepower and 645 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, the Audi RS Q8 belongs to the new crop of twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8s and it delivers 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque.

It’s a fancy high-tech engine designed to do a bunch of things. A 48-volt hybrid system improves fuel efficiency, for example. And it’s also smooth and quiet when you want to. But does that matter in a drag race? No. On the other hand, the Trackhawk doesn’t have the best launch system out there.

So what exactly happened? Well, they fail the first two races, but on the third, the Audi just pulls ahead by a nose. It’s not a huge landslide, but the Germans won, and we don’t love that. Maybe if Jeep had made the launch control system easier, this would have looked different.

Mat Watson isn’t happy with the results either, and in the second valid race, the Audi is the one getting humiliated. The roll race is exactly what you’d expect: superchargers are faster.

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