One-Off Grand Cherokee Prototype Shows SRT’s Answer to Turbo Lag

At Stellantis’ Conner Center, the former Dodge Viper assembly plant in Detroit, a Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled out with a sound unlike any current factory model. The standard-wheelbase prototype wore a non-production exhaust and hid something far more powerful under the hood: SRT’s high-output Hurricane inline-six-cylinder engine.

That engine is rated at 550 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque in the 2026 Dodge Charger Sixpack, with some Ram 1500 trucks making 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet. But the real twist is SRT’s eBoost Air system. A 48-volt electric compressor pushes extra air to each of the two existing turbochargers, spinning at 90,000 RPM and up to 10 PSI.

SRT says it is not a third turbo, and engineers designed, adapted and installed the system in just seven weeks.

Joel Baker, vice president of SRT Propulsion Systems, says the goal is not simply peak power. “So what it does do is increase torque in the medium to low RPM range. ” The team added 90 horsepower to the prototype Hurricane engine and raised peak torque slightly. If the starting point was the Charger Sixpack calibration, that would put this Grand Cherokee at about 640 horsepower.

The eBoost module sits upstream of the exhaust-driven turbos and is bypassed at idle. Under acceleration, a valve opens and routes intake air through the electric compressor into both turbos. Baker says the concept could also work on turbocharged four-cylinders and naturally aspirated V8s, though it has not been tested.

It differs from an e-turbo, which needs more development time.

This Jeep is the only prototype for now, and eBoost Air has not been greenlit for production. A Stellantis insider said that if Jeep were to bring back the Grand Cherokee SRT, this would fit the bill. With Hellcat-level acceleration claimed and no official production commitment yet, the idea remains a promising look at how SRT might fight turbo lag.