#HellcatSwaps has the ability to become one of the most popular hashtags in the industry given the way tuners are going ahead with this. This is not the first time a Hellcat swap is being done in a Jeep Gladiator. Hennessey has done this before on the same vehicle and moniker’d it Maximus. Heck, even Jeep used a Hellcat engine when it launched the 2019 Gladiator M-715 Five Quarter concept at the Easter Jeep Safari earlier this year. Now, a video released by Drag Times shows us another example where a Jeep Gladiator has been turned into a monster. Does it feature any other changes besides the engine swap? Oh, hell yeah!

This Is My Next Big Guilty Pleasure

The engine used here is the Hellcat's 6.2-liter, supercharged V-8 mill that churns out 750 horses. But that’s not all. The tuner has made a lot of other changes like adding a big winch on the front bumper, placing the body on mighty 36-inch tires, and revising the suspension system. To add to the fun factor, there are 47 different types of lights and strobes, sourced from Recon, in and around the truck, including sequential turn signals. The truck now sends power to the rear wheels primarily, but that can be switched to a four-wheel-drive mode while halted. It reaches the 100 mph mark in 15.2 seconds, whereas the quarter-mile is cleared in 14.3 seconds. Not to mention the truck is much heavier than the stock Gladiator, weighing around 6,000 pounds, thanks to the engine swap and other stuff like the said new winch on the bumper and the bigger tires.

How Does It Fare Against The Stock 2020 Gladiator?

Compare it to the stock Gladiator and you’ll realize that this truck is on a different level altogether. The standard 2020 Jeep Gladiator comes with a 3.6-liter, V-6 engine that produces 285 horses and 260 pound-feet of twist under the hood. This is the same mill that is present under the hood of the Jeep Wrangler as well. The oomph is sent to all the wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. An eight-speed automatic transmission is optional. The output figures are not mind-blowing per se, but Jeep has focused on low-end torque and a broad torque range, to begin with.

The base trims of the Jeep Gladiator can tow up to 7,650 pounds and haul up to 1,600 pounds. The maximum towing capacity on the top-of-the-line Overland trim drops to 6,000 pounds and the payload capacity to 1,140 pounds. The 2020 Gladiator starts at $35,000 and goes all the way till $45,000 without any accessories. As it turns out, people are buying a lot of accessories for the Gladiator from Mopar, with every customer spending $1,000 on an average. This itself is a testament as to how popular the truck is among enthusiasts. No wonder this is any tuner’s favorite toy to play with lately.

Hennessey Has Plonked a Hellcat Engine In The Gladiator Already

Speaking of the Hennessey-powered Jeep Gladiator, the aftermarket company turned the standard Gladiator into a monster of sorts. The Hennessey Maximus comes with the signature seven-slat grille and all-black look that feels very elegant, Maximus-exclusive bumpers, LED light bar on the roof and bumper, and Hennessey-designed 20-inch wheels along with stainless steel exhaust pipes. Hennessey also used the same 6.2-liter, supercharged V-8 engine but gave it a twist.This was complemented by a new ECU, fuel system, radiator upgrade, and a suspension system with a six-inch lift kit. How much, you ask? That’ll be $200,000.

Before Hennessey, Jeep Itself Has Used This Engine

Moniker’d the ’Five-Quarter,’ this concept truck is actually a resto-mod of the 1968 Kaiser Jeep M-715, Gladiator-based, military vehicle. The automaker plonked the Five Quarter with a 6.2-liter, supercharged, ’Hellcrate’ (that’s not a typo) V-8 engine that develops over 700 ponies. This engine is mated to an old-school, three-speed, Chrysler 727 gearbox, and a ’Rock-Trac’ 241OR transfer case. It rides on 20-inch Beadlock wheels wrapped with large 40-inch tires. The Five-Quarter concept’s original frame has been reinforced, and the stock leaf springs have been replaced with a heavy-duty coil suspension system. The front axle has been replaced with a Dynatrac Pro-rock 60 unit and the rear one with a Dynatrac Pro-rock 80 axle. I won’t delve into further details, but this is what the truck is all about, in a nutshell.

Do you think the Gladiator will become a tuner’s new fascination? From the looks of it, I’d say yes. What do you think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2020 Jeep Gladiator.

Read our full review on the 2020 Hennessey Maximus.