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Official: SRT Viper GT3-R is ready to kick racetrack butt

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Racing, SRT

SRT Viper GT3-R race car - front three-quarter view

This weekend, SRT Motorsports will be focused on returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Viper GTS-R, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t looking a bit further down the road. While the GTS-R is the factory-backed racecar running at Le Mans and in the America Le Mans Series, SRT is also preparing to introduce this new Viper GT3-R for private race teams to run in various GT3 classes around the world.

Culminating from a collaboration with Riley Technologies in Mooresville, NC, the SRT Viper GT3-R uses many of the same performance technologies as the GTS-R. While a stock Viper produces 640 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque, the GT3-R’s unrestricted V10 lays down 680 hp and 640 lb-ft. This car goes on sale – ready to race – later this year with a starting price estimated at around $459,000. Scroll down for more info on the newest member to the Viper family.

Continue reading SRT Viper GT3-R is ready to kick racetrack butt

SRT Viper GT3-R is ready to kick racetrack butt originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: SRT gets first standalone ad campaign

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Chrysler, Dodge, SRT

2014 srt viper in carwash

SRT has more models on offer than Chrysler. It has as many models as Ram, with hotted-up versions of the Dodge Charger and Challenger, Chrysler 300, and Jeep Grand Cherokee, plus the exclusive SRT Viper. Dodge is still the top of the choice heap, but SRT wants to wave its freak flag high after building its roster somewhat quietly. Since SRT can’t roar through everyone’s neighborhood, it’s taking to television with its first-ever advertising campaign.

You may have already been lucky enough to catch one of the Body and Soul spots that launched on June 8 on cable. There are 30-, 60- and 90-second versions of the commercial, and a web-only full version that clocks in at 2:15. It’s a nice piece of evocative writing by David Morring, who served as Creative Director for agency The Richards Group.

“We wanted to infuse our first-ever SRT creative campaign with grit, beauty, longing, desire and nostalgia,” said Olivier Francois, Chrysler’s Chief Marketing Officer. SRT President and CEO Ralph Gilles also weighed in about the campaign, saying “it’s the feeling of when you get behind the wheel and step on the throttle for the first time and feel the power of the engine. It’s that feeling and legacy that Chrysler Group has forged with owners and ther vehicles over the last cetury; something that SRT brand is creating with a new set of consumers for the first time.” Keep reading to check out the spots for yourself, read the press release, and see if they nailed it.

Continue reading SRT gets first standalone ad campaign

SRT gets first standalone ad campaign originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorsports: SRT Viper ready for Le Mans after 10-year absence [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Racing, SRT

The Viper will once again roar down the storied Mulsanne straight, as SRT is returning to the famed French race with two identically prepared GTS-R race cars set to compete at Le Mans later this month. Enthusiasts have been waiting a long time for a repeat appearance of the ten-cylinder coupes, which haven’t raced since winning the GTS class three times from 1998 to 2000. Ralph Gilles, president and chief executive officer of the SRT brand and motorsports, told Autoweek, “Le Mans is a world stage. The GTS-R has enjoyed great success at Le Mans in the past, and we’re excited to start a new chapter of Viper racing at that historic venue.”

Understandably, the rules at Le Mans have changed over the past decade and the automaker will be racing a new vehicle. Gary Johnson, SRT racing manager, told the publication, “Our plan is to be as competitive as we can and see what happens at the end.”

The new GTS-R shouldn’t have trouble running against its competitors in the LM GTE Pro Class, as its chassis has proven itself several times since its American Le Mans Series (ALMS) debut last August. This year alone, the No. 91 Viper has finished in the top five in all three races it has entered. “We’re going with the same commitment to do our best,” said Johnson.

To learn more about SRT’s race efforts, check out its new web series called Beyond the Checkered Flag. We’ve linked to the first video below.

Continue reading SRT Viper ready for Le Mans after 10-year absence [w/video]

SRT Viper ready for Le Mans after 10-year absence [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York 2011: Chrysler’s SRT division open to smaller engines, but there’s still a market for big V8s

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, SUV, Chrysler, Luxury

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 6.4-liter HEMI V8

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 – Click above for high-res image gallery

When asked about Chrysler’s Street Racing Technology (SRT) division rolling out another big-bore, high-horsepower engine at the 2011 New York Auto Show, Dan Reid, the company’s head of media relations, said “there’s a market for it – cars that go fast and sound good.”

Joseph Grace, the vehicle line manager for the SRT division, agreed that “big, naturally-aspirated V8s” can still find enough buyers to support halo cars. The tuning arm is open, however, to less potent options. “There’s a precedent for four-cylinders [with the Dodge Neon SRT4], and a 6 [on the Crossfire SRT6], and when we get the right platform we’ll look at it again.” Added Reid, “The five areas for SRT are powertrain, braking, handling, interior and exterior,” and any potential SRT vehicle has to live up to that first qualification. Grace then told us that the 6.4-liter engine in the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, with its cylinder deactivation and active exhaust system, was “the most efficient way to deliver the kind of performance the customer expects.”

“We had great success with the SRT4 and there’s a trend toward smaller displacement turbo engines, there’s actually a demographic that that appeals to,” Grace said. But when asked whether there could be something like an Dodge Journey SRT, Grace suggested not and said, “That’s why we have the Man Van.”

As for where else Chrysler is looking for special models, Reid said, “Want to expand the 300 model line to a car for every personality, tailor models to different customers. Right now we have a ‘bare-bones’ model, the 300, 300 S, 300C Executive, and SRT8. We’re looking at the non-traditional customer and seeing what they’d like.”

Gallery: 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8: New York 2011

New York 2011: Chrysler’s SRT division open to smaller engines, but there’s still a market for big V8s originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked 2011 Challenger brochure: 305-HP V6, 475 HP in the SRT 6.4

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Dodge

Leaked pages from the 2011 Dodge Challenger brochure – Click above for high-res image gallery

Specific outputs have been put to engines in the 2011 Dodge Challenger lineup, and the increases are substantial at the bottom and the top of the range: the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 will turn out 305 horsepower and 268 pound-feet, the 5.7-liter Hemi will crank 379 hp and 410 lb-ft., while the 6.4-liter Hemi tops the charts with 475 hp and 460 lb-ft.

That’s a 50-hp and 18 lb-ft. rise for the 3.6-liter V6 over the current 3.5-liter, which ought to make Dodge’s muscle car much more competitive with base models of the Camaro and Mustang. Moving up, there is a 50-hp bump in ponies alongside a 40-lb-ft. increase in torque for the top-shelf 6.4-liter that should help the SRT8 compete with Ford’s GT500. The man in the middle, the 5.7-liter, makes do with an increase of seven horsepower and ten pound-feet.

Much more intriguing than that is the tale that Ralph Gilles, Dodge’s CEO, said that the SRT8 would do the 0-to-60 run in less than four seconds. The current Challenger has been tested by various outlets to run anywhere from 4.8 to 5.5 seconds. Dodge doesn’t officially list its own time, but the EVIC information page on the Challenger site displays a 4.90-second time.

If Gilles did actually say the 2011 would get it done in “the 3-second zone,” then there’s a year’s haul of Deadly Catch in Denmark because 50 additional horsepower won’t cut an entire second. A Cadillac CTS-V weighs about 60 pounds more than the Challenger SRT8 but has 81 more ponies that help it break the four-second barrier. The truth is in there somewhere – the question is, where is it, and how fast will it be? Thanks for the tip, challenger64hemi!

Gallery: Leaked pages from the 2011 Dodge Challenger Brochure

[Source: Ontario Street Car]

Leaked 2011 Challenger brochure: 305-HP V6, 475 HP in the SRT 6.4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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