Charger SRT8: Power to Love or Hate
Chrysler relentlessly continues its trip into the past with another version of the HEMI-powered Charger, the SRT8. A Charger SRT8 is on display at the Barrett-Jackson Auction and although I still dislike the design of the Charger, I'll admit the huge wheels and lowered suspension add considerable visual impact.
But this isn't about my tastes, it's about a test drive by theCarConnection's John Pearley Huffman, in which he praises the big car's performance and handling. Not before insisting, however, that the Charger SRT8 is "the sheetmetal manifestation of everything the rest of the world hates about Americans. And precisely why so much of the rest of world wants to come here." Perhaps more accurately he adds "If you're the type of person who looks at the day's news and forecasts nothing but doom, gloom and societal collapse for the future, the Dodge Charger SRT8 simply isn't the car for you."
The SRT8 features a 6.1-liter version of the current HEMI V-8, rated at 425 hp, the same rating that the classic 426 HEMI carried throughout its production run between 1966 and 1971. One obvious difference: handling. "The driver never will never forget he's piloting more than two tons of car stretching out nearly 17 feet long, but this is one sharp-handling sedan… Dodge owes Mercedes a big debt for loaning it those suspension components." There's a price to pay for all that power, though. 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway by EPA ratings, a heck of a lot worse when you put your foot into it.
It's not over yet, folks. Word is out that the Super Bee's next on Chrysler's revival list. Will it ever end?
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