Mopar buffs everywhere probably thought they saw it all back in 2004 when Dodge’s SRT division produced a Viper-powered pickup, a vehicle that had to be America’s greatest factory performance truck since the all-wheel GMC Syclone. That V10-stuffed Ram, known as the “SRT10” would set a hot rod truck milestone for Mopar.

In fact, the “Daytona,” “Rumble Bee” and other performance-related insignia became a big part of the Mopar scene starting around ’04, and this “renaissance” would lead to the reinvention of the Charger and the Challenger.

In 2013 SRT does it again with their HEMI-powered SUV creation, this year’s SRT8 version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Grand Cherokee SRT8 is unique above other non-Viper SRT models in that it comes standard with all-wheel-drive, making the HEMI Jeep more than capable of successfully planting some 470 horses on to the dirt or pavement.

Yahoo Autos’ Ezra Dyer talks about the difference between SRT’s Grand Cherokee and the other 6.4 HEMI vehicles, “Drop a 470-horse HEMI into a Dodge Charger or Challenger and you get a vehicle that wants to do a burnout for three blocks every time you stomp the gas. In the Jeep, though, that 6.4 liter V8 deploys its power with ruthless efficiency,” explains Dyer of the Grand Cherokee’s dynamic performance.

Another characteristic of the SRT8 Jeep that has to be by far our favorite is that it’s a high-performing SUV that follows in the “door-slammer” tradition.

Ezra Dyer talks about this subtle approach. “While the SRT version of the Grand Cherokee does without the height-adjustable suspension and Kevlar-reinforced sidewalls of the more off road-oriented versions, it can still navigate a rough dirt road in a way that honors its SUV roots, which got me thinking, naturally, about moonshine and the Jeep’s suitability as a bootlegger car,” explains Dyer.

Is SRT’s Grand Cherokee the slippery new “moonshine” car of the Millennium? Take a look at our featured romp and decide for yourselves!