Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler's 300C SRT8 is the car we thought the American auto industry would not build again. After the muscle-car era, U.S. automakers relinquished the high-performance family-sedan formula to the Germans (who added refinement but charged elitist prices) and Japanese (who charged a little less than the Germans but somehow sterilized the whole thing).

On occasion, the home industry was good for the affordable yet unrefined eye-opener that temporarily salved our pain-to name a few, the Buick Grand National and GNX, the Chevrolet Impala SS, and the Ford Taurus SHO. Those vehicles offered performance and price but lacked the refinement of the import brands. For 2004, Cadillac gave us the 400-hp CTS-V that matched the performance and refinement of the über-sedans, but at $51,485, GM charges fully for it.

What makes the SRT8 version of Chrysler's 300C exceptional is that it's the first sedan from anyone, anywhere, to combine the refinement and performance of the pricey supersedans with a sticker of $42,095, no incentive necessary. It's something the U.S. auto industry should have done long ago, but it was worth the wait.

Without the 10Best-winning 340-hp 300C, which probably wouldn't have gestated in its current form had it not been for the Mercedes merger, SRT (Street and Racing Technology) director Dan Knott would not have had such a superb starting point on which to perform the modifications necessary to make the car into something worthy of SRT badging. For those whose free time is completely taken up by reruns of VH1's Strange Love, the SRT division of Chrysler and Dodge is akin to Mercedes-Benz's AMG and BMW's M division in that they take regular production cars and up the ante until they have about 50 more horsepower than you'd expect.

In the case of the 300C SRT8, the enhanced engine makes 425 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque from a bored-out, high-compression-ratio 6.1-liter version of the corporate 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. Tricks such as variable valve timing or a multistage intake manifold are not present. New stuff includes just a single hot camshaft sitting in the block, 16 lightened valves, and a forged crankshaft that allows the large V-8 to spin to a melodic 6400 rpm. The torque peak arrives at 4800 rpm. That may sound high for an engine this big, but the copious displacement means enough torque is available off idle to put the limited-slip differential to good use. Compared with the 5.7-liter it's based on, the 6.1-liter feels sportier and, oddly, smaller because of its penchant for high revs.

An eager five-speed automatic modified by SRT provides immediate upshifts and downshifts and is a terrific partner to the 6.1-liter. Full-throttle shifts at the redline are accompanied by an explosive sonic boom from the exhaust. Back off the throttle, and the sound becomes mellow and unobtrusive. At 70 mph we measured 69 dBA of noise, but you don't hear the engine as much as you hear the wind rushing around the brick-like body and the hum of the wide tires. Following the logic of AMG's offerings, the German automaker's American operations do not offer a clutch pedal. Manual transmissions in sedans this large and with this much power somehow feel out of place and too often suffer from high efforts that make them difficult to drive smoothly.


SPECIFICATIONS

Model: 2009 Chrysler 300C SRT8
Engine: 6.1-liter SRT HEMI V8
Horsepower/Torque: 425 hp @ 6000 rpm/420 lb.-ft. @ 4800 rpm
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Wheelbase: 120.0 in.
Length/Width/Height: 196.8 x 74.1 x 57.9 in.
Tires: 245/45ZR20
Cargo volume: 15.6 cu. ft.
Fuel economy: 13 mpg city/19 mpg highway/15.4 mpg test
Fuel capacity: 19.0 gal.
Sticker: $48,470 (includes $700 destination charge and $3,910 in options)

Some Pictures

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Chrysler 300C SRT-8