A gray 2022 Jeep Gladiator against a sunset.

Why You Won’t See a Hellcat in the 2022 Jeep Gladiator

You won't see a 2022 Jeep Gladiator Hellcat. Not officially, anyway. Why not, even though the engine technically fits? It isn't safe, and the reason why not may surprise you.

by Maeve Rich

Published on October 20, 2021 5:15 pm

2 min read

Can you put a Hellcat engine in the 2022 Jeep Gladiator?

According to Autoblog, you can technically put a Hellcat engine in a Jeep Gladiator. Just because you can technically do it though, doesn’t mean that you should, and there won’t be a Hellcat in the 2022 Jeep Gladiator. Apparently Jeep’s brand chief Tim Kuniskis said in 2019 that the Hellcat engine fits in the Jeep Gladiator “like a glove.” Sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? Well, the fit may be a little too perfect to be safe. Kuniskis went on to say that the Hellcat’s tight position in a Jeep Gladiator would make it so that Jeep could never produce a Jeep Gladiator Hellcat.

The biggest problem with a Hellcat engine barely fitting into the engine space of the 2022 Jeep Gladiator is that it doesn’t allow enough space. Kuniskis said, “There’s no air space around the engine […] so you have no crush space, you have nothing that can be used to absorb energy in a crash. It’s not a problem to put it in — other than emissions and fuel economy — except it would never pass any crash tests, and that’s a problem.”

What is a Hellcat?

A Hellcat is a seriously powerful engine that you find in muscle cars, like the Dodge Challenger. It’s a 6.2-liter V8 that can make 707-hp. Although it’s similar to other hefty engines like the 6.4-liter Chrysler engine, it shares only its basic makeup with those engines.

The Hellcat engine is named after the WWII’s Grumman F6F “Hellcat” fighter plane. The Hellcat isn’t just found in the Challenger. It can also be found in the Dodge Durango and the Dodge Charger.

Some people put Hellcats in Gladiators anyway

Just because you shouldn’t put a Hellcat engine in the 2022 Jeep Gladiator doesn’t mean people won’t try. There have already been Hellcats put into Jeep Gladiators. Take this example from Motortrend showcasing one particular Jeep Gladiator that was modified to accept a Hellcat engine. If you had bought that particular Jeep Gladiator, it would have cost you $139,900. It isn’t hard to find other examples of this Jeep Gladiator-Hellcat concoction on the internet.

The 2022 Jeep Gladiator is a five-passenger pickup that you’ll be able to buy soon. The base price for the 2022 Jeep Gladiator is $36,910.

If you can’t decide between the Jeep Wrangler and a pickup truck, you may want the 2022 Jeep Gladiator. However, if you’re torn between the 2022 Jeep Gladiator and the Dodge Charger, you might be out of luck. For now, anyway, in the interest of safety, there won’t be any 2022 Jeep Gladiator Hellcat.