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- New Street and Racing Technology (SRT) Motorsports team features two identical SRT Viper GTS-Rs in the production-based GT class
July 13, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – The 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R will make its first on-track race appearance Aug. 4 at the Mid-Ohio (Lexington, Ohio) Sports Car Course, SRT Motorsports officials announced today.
Street and Racing Technology (SRT®) brand’s flagship performance machine returns with more power and performance, superior craftsmanship, new technologies and creature comforts
- Two new models include SRT® Viper and SRT® Viper GTS
- All-aluminum, mid-engine 8.4-liter V-10 delivers an estimated 640 horsepower and 600 lb.-ft. of torque – the most torque of any naturally aspirated sports car engine in the world
- Chassis enhancements bring 50 percent improvement in torsional stiffness
- Triple-digit weight reduction results in Viper best power-to-weight ratio
- Standard safety features include electronic multistage stability control, traction control and new 4-channel anti-lock brake system (ABS)
- All-new, innovative interior designs set new standards with premium materials, new technologies and superior craftsmanship
- All-new carbon-fiber and aluminum skin is sculpted for high-speed stability and a slippery .364 drag coefficient (Cd)
- Timeless exterior design incorporates iconic Viper styling cues with a contemporary execution
April 2, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Get ready – the wait is almost over for America’s iconic predator. The all-new 2013 SRT Viper is ready to shed its skin and sink its fangs into the supercar world! Check out www.driveSRT.com at 11:55 a.m. EDT on April 4, 2012 for the official unveiling live from the New York International Show.
July 15, 2011 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Chrysler Group LLC has officially elevated its in-house performance division – the Street and Racing Technology (SRT®) team – to a separate company brand that promises to maintain its successful formula to design, engineer and build benchmark American high-performance vehicles for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge.
The launch of SRT as the company’s performance brand comes as three additional vehicles are set to rejoin the 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8® in the expanding SRT lineup. Making their returns to the vehicle lineup are the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8, 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 and 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.
All four new SRT vehicles share a common powerplant – the new 6.4-liter (392 cubic-inch) HEMI® V-8 engine that features more horsepower and more torque than ever before across a significantly wider rpm range, while intake and exhaust technologies lead to improved fuel efficiency.
“SRT lives on as the in-house performance team of the Chrysler Group that adheres to our five existing performance hallmarks centered around building the best high-performance vehicles for the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands. Being a separate brand will allow our team to expand the dedicated engineering and marketing resources for specific performance vehicles. We will look to delight SRT customers and evolve our business model with the performance enthusiast in mind. The SRT vehicle lineup will continue to make the latest in contemporary luxury features available to our customers, while carefully integrating active and passive safety features. We strive to never lose focus on driver involvement and vehicle character while maintaining each of the vehicle brand’s key design differentiators.”
-Ralph Gilles
President and CEO, SRT Brand and Motorsports
Every SRT vehicle is developed using five specific performance hallmarks, including:
Awe-inspiring powertrains
High horsepower and torque ratings are a prerequisite in the high-performance automotive world. SRT engineers work to extract maximum power and fuel efficiency from each engine regardless of displacement, to meet the demands of today’s performance customer. Proven transmissions reliably put the power to the pavement, while at the same time incorporate the latest fuel-saving technology.
Outstanding ride, handling and capability
Every SRT vehicle is built to excel on both road courses and road trips as a result of countless miles of real-world testing to ensure masterful handling on complex circuits and city streets alike. Each tire and wheel package is carefully selected to guarantee any SRT vehicle can hold its own on and off the race track.
Benchmark braking
SRT vehicles are well known for their world-class braking. SRT uses some of the best performing components so drivers never have to worry about having safe and consistent stopping power quickly at hand.
Aggressive and functional exteriors
Auto enthusiasts can spot an SRT vehicle from far away. So designers and engineers work together, whether in the studio or the wind tunnel, to ensure each performance target objective is met, while maintaining specific brand styling cues and character lines. All the design elements on the exterior are functional. Since SRT vehicles are drag limited, they are designed to be stable at very high speeds with a goal to achieve the least amount of lift as possible, while being efficient at touring speeds.
Race-inspired and high-performance interiors
The interiors of SRT vehicles are specifically designed with only high-quality materials, leather and fabrics while promoting passenger comfort with an aggressive feel. Confidence-inspiring steering wheels, stylish ambient lighting along with the latest in intelligent performance hardware and sound systems transform the interior of all SRT vehicles into an upscale space at any speed.
“This is a momentous time in the history of SRT as we expand our vehicle lineup from one vehicle within one brand to four vehicles within three Chrysler Group brands,” Gilles added. “I honestly can’t wait for our performance customers to get behind the wheel of our new lineup of SRT vehicles – they’re going to be impressed.”
SRT history
Formed in 2002 as one of the industry’s leading in-house automotive performance groups, SRT’s original premise, which is still followed today, was to create the Chrysler Group‘s boldest, most distinctive vehicles that delivered benchmark performance.
Original team members were recruited from the established Dodge Viper development team that had already been building the ultimate American supercar for more than 10 years, along with Dodge motorsports and the Mopar® engineering teams.
The man at the helm when SRT started in 2002, Dan Knott, credits its early success directly to this “team of die-hard performance enthusiasts leading the engineering efforts.”
The 2003 Dodge Viper SRT10® was a natural fit to carry the flag as the first official SRT vehicle with its all-new, 500 horsepower 8.3-liter V-10 engine.
The next vehicle to wear the SRT treatment was the Dodge Neon and its transformation into the SRT4 was groundbreaking. It instantly became the quickest car under $20,000 and made the import tuning crowd take serious notice.
In total, there have been 10 Chrysler Group nameplates designed and engineered specifically to wear the SRT badge, including:
• Chrysler 300 and 300C SRT8
• Chrysler Crossfire SRT6®
• Dodge SRT4®
• Dodge Ram SRT10®
• Dodge Viper SRT10, Viper SRT10 ACR and Viper SRT10 ACR-X
• Dodge Magnum SRT8
• Dodge Charger SRT8
• Dodge Caliber SRT4
• Dodge Challenger SRT8 and Challenger SRT8 392
• Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8
The roots leading up to SRT being established in 2002 can be traced back to the 1989 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where Dodge amazed crowds with the sleek Viper concept car. The vehicle’s simplistic yet muscular shape paired with an extreme performance 8.0-liter V-10 engine instantly thrust the Viper into the spotlight. The public raved and the Viper was quickly approved for production.
With the dawn of the V-10 powered supercar emerged a group of devoted engineers. Team Viper worked to hone the supercar for the street and racing, which would lead to endurance race victories in the late 1990s.
Meanwhile, a separate, dedicated team completed work on the 1993 Plymouth Prowler concept car. When the first Prowler rolled off the assembly line four years later, Chrysler integrated the two specialty groups into a single entity: Special Vehicle Engineering. At last, Chrysler’s elite teams worked together under a single roof to create eye-catching niche vehicles.
In 2002, Chrysler announced the creation of the Performance Vehicle Operations (PVO) group. The newly formed group leveraged existing resources to improve Chrysler’s high-performance vehicle focus.
All PVO creations began to wear the SRT badge with the unveiling of the Viper V-10-powered Dodge Ram SRT-10 concept, flanked on the floor at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit by the Dodge SRT-4 concept and Viper SRT-10.
In 2004, Chrysler renamed the PVO development team SRT.
Check out the video below that shows the 2012 SRT8 Vehicles in action. The guys in the Dodge‘s even break the tires loose a little bit for you! As always, click any of the images in the post to see more photos of Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Vehicles. Thanks again for checking out Chrysler Catchall!
April 15, 2011 7:43 AM Whew! It’s been a busy week at Chrysler Group….and our own Ed Garsten wraps it up for you Under the Pentastar:
- New strategic agreement between Mopar®, Magneti Merelli and Shell Lubricants
- Dodge Avenger Rally Car
- Mopar ’11 Charger
- Ward’s interior awards for 2011 Jeep® Grand Cherokee Overland Summit and 2011 Dodge Charger Rallye Plus
- Fiat ups ownership in Chrysler Group
- Just in time for spring: the Fiat 500 Cabrio