One of the perks of being a top-flight F1 pilot is that you end up with a selection of sweet rides in your garage – most of which come at no detriment to your bank balance.
Ferrari hotshoes Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa certainly fit into this category, with the Scuderia having gifted each of its drivers a 458 Italia and an Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari… oh, and they also threw in a Maserati GranCabrio for when they’re in a mood for a spot of alfresco cruising.
Now the pint-sized pair has each gained a further addition to their collection in the form of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 – courtesy of the Fiat Group’s ownership of Chrysler.
The standard Grand Cherokee line-up has been around for 18 months or so, but the ballistic SRT8 – SRT being the acronym for Street and Racing Technology – is a recent debutant (it goes on sale here shortly), and Alonso and Massa’s new acquisitions are the first two examples delivered in Europe.
What makes the vehicles just a little bit special is that they’re festooned in Ferrari’s signature Rosso Corsa paintwork, while the trademark seven-slot Jeep grille is painted matte black and features custom red inserts. A race-inspired, offset black racing stripe with a white accent distinguishes the front and rear bumpers, bonnet and the entire surface of the roof and rear spoiler.
Additional tweaks include a matte black painted dual-pane sunroof, carbonfibre mirror caps and a gloss black rear light bar with red accents on the Jeep logo.
Just to ensure there’s no mistaking who the owners’ employer is, there’s an Italian flag painted on the underside of the rear spoiler: a tribute to the Ferrari F150º Formula One car.
Meanwhile, the interior has been pimped via Ferrari Red leather inserts on the seats, while the door trim panels, central armrest and the instrument panel are also trimmed in red leather. A further visual link to Ferrari’s road cars is provided by a unique instrument cluster with yellow dials.
The rowdy red Jeeps sit 1.5 inches (38mm) lower than the standard SRT8 and they ride on black-painted 20-inch forged aluminium wheels for an even tougher stance.
The drivetrains have been left untouched, but when the engine bay is stuffed full of a 6.4-litre Hemi V8 with 350kW and 630Nm, there’s no real need to mess about. After all, any SUV that sprints to 100km/h in 5sec and hits 257km/h can hardly be considered a slouch.
Wonder if they’ll do a low-volume production run of the Ferrari-ised Jeeps for public consumption? There’s bound to be at least some takers for the feisty ‘fire engines’…
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