SRT is Reborn, Let the V8 Burnouts Begin
It’s baaaack. Furthering Stellantis’ moves in North America to get away from the Europeanification of the brand, a Mopar legend is back; the Street and Racing Technology (SRT) division.
Yes, the makers of such icons as the Neon SRT-4, Ram SRT-10, Magnum SRT-8, Viper SRT-10, and so many more, are back in business. The move is designed to bring together all the high-performance engineering resources and talent into a central point across Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands.
Recently, the Hellcat engine was extended another year in the Durango and the 6.4-liter V8 in the Wrangler. Oh, and the Ram just got its V8 back. This move hints that more high-performance models shall return, which meshes well with our prediction of some form of V8 Charger eventually showing up. Including Chrysler in the mix is an interesting point as the brand currently only sells variations of the Pacifica minivan. Most likely this means the brand should get more models down the road, some maybe even with the SRT treatment. We’d like to believe though that this means the Pacifica Hellcat can finally go into production.
The reborn SRT division won’t just focus on road cars, it will also oversee Direct Connection and North American motorsports programs for all four brands. Currently, this includes participation in the NHRA and Ram’s big return to the NASCAR Truck Series in 2026.
The relaunch of SRT coincides with Tim Kuniskis being appointed head of American brands and North America marketing and retail strategy. Kuniskis will retain his position as CEO of the Ram brand and oversee the new SRT division. If there’s ever been a better time to bring out a successor to the Ram SRT-10, we don’t know when it was. Ok, the V10 is dead, so technically it would be a Ram SRT-8. But put the Hellcat V8 back in the Ram, give it the Redeye treatment, and go the complete opposite direction of the TRX. Voila, Ram could have one bad-ass street truck that can embarrass sports cars.
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A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
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It would seem so easy for them to create a version of the Charger with different sheet metal and rebadge it as the new Chrysler 300. Why not?
Sadly, there won't be an SRT-4. I had a 2005, and it was the absolute best bang for the buck ever. I racked up several tickets in that thing; easy and inexpensive to mod, and reliable too.