(car engine revving) - In a world where efficiency
and technological advancements are at the forefront of automotive design, one special division within
Chrysler has toiled away. Keeping the muscle car tradition alive. Turning ordinary cars, trucks, and jeeps into flame belching monsters. They're the embodiment of
muscle in the modern age, a team whose badge one
thing and one thing only: Business, baby! This is everything to know
to get up to speed on SRT! (video game music) One fine afternoon in 1998, Chrysler's exec. vice pres. of
product development Tom Gale, was perusing the convention floor of the automotive after
market's biggest annual shindig, The SEMA Show. Early in Gale's career, he helped design the Plymouth Barracuda and he also played a huge part
in developing the Dodge Viper which rekindled a focus on
performance at Chrysler. And that's why he was at SEMA. He wanted to see for himself what trends would be in
the world of performance. But what he saw surprised him. No one was looking at the
V8 powered muscle cars that Tom had grown up with. All the cool kids were transfixed on the suped up import sport compacts like Civics, Integras and Eclipses. The tuner movement was in full swring and even though Tom wasn't
a tuner guy himself, he was smart. And he saw the young people
wanted a car that was fast, affordable, and modable. So, he would build them one. Gale put a team together of the most talented people at Chrysler to work on the new project. He united Team Viper: the
people behind the Viper, and Team Prowler: the
people behind the Prowler. The team got their paws on
Dodge's compact economy car, the Neon, and started
fiddlin' around with it. They completed their first
concept build in only four months complete with a super charger
on top of a two liter engine. They took the feisty little
Neon back to SEMA the next year, and people frickin' loved it! But the suits back at
Chrysler were hesitant to put it into production. In 2002, the Neon project was taken over by Chrysler's Performance
Vehicle Operations Division. PVO swapped out the blown four-banger for a turbocharge setup, and fitted the Neon with a trick clutch, five speed gear box, equal length drive shafts
to reduce torques gear, and Tokiko racing struts to
help the car stay planted. They gave the Neon a more aggressive nose to let in more air to the engine bay, and capped it all off with
a big fat spoiler outback. You can't be a tuner car, and not have a ridiculous wing! I'm sorry, them's the rules. And if we don't have rules,
then life is anarchy. Amazingly, these changes
won the suits over, and it was approved for
sale to the public in 2003. All it needed was a name. It was a Neon, used PVO's
street and racing technology and had a four cylinder engine. Neon SRT4! Nice!
- Nice. - Dodge's factory built tuner was a serious contender
on the road and track! Critics of the day praised the SRT4 for its precise handling
and strong engine. Team Viper, Team Prowler, and PVO really put their hearts
into this car and it showed. (car zooming) But the public really
didn't know what to think. Some people wrote it off
immediately because of the styling, others couldn't fathom
that an American company was making not just an import
fighter, but an import beater. As a result, it didn't sell very well, and the Neon SRT4 only lasted three years. But the SRT badge? Oh ho ho, it was just getting started. To unite Dodge's new performance wing, the new Viper was sold with
SRT branding starting in 2003. The next year, PVO
changed their name to SRT since all the cars they worked on had the SRT badge and not PVO. So, you know, makes sense. What didn't make sense,
was their next project. The Viper's crown jewel was
its radical ten cylinder engine under the hood, making 500 horse power. 500? That's a lot of horsies running around! (car revs) It's a sick engine, but the team at SRT thought it was a waste that only one car got to use it, so they through it in somethin' else! Which somethin' else? All of Dodge passenger cars were too small for the engine to fit into, and the V10 Caravan would just be wrong. They needed somethin' a little bigger, but that left only one option
and it wasn't exactly a car. In it's stock form, the Dodge Ram is not
a performance vehicle. It was designed to tow
stuff, and carry things, and it isn't particularly aerodynamic. Naturally, these inherently
unsporty-like qualities immediately disqualified the Ram from the search for the
Viper V10's new home, right? Wrong! Come on! SRT ain't goin' out like that! The V10 jumped right in, then they took the
truck to the wind tunnel for some aero testing. They gave the Ram SRT10
a power bulge hood scoop to feed the hungry engine more air and even added a little
spoiler to the back. (car revving) The Ram SRT10 came with a six speed manual with a Hurst shifter and did
zero to 60 in 5.3 seconds. That's not bad for a pick-up. The SRT10 was built on top of
a stiffened hydroformed frame and rode on tuned Bilstein shocks. Like the Neon, SRT put everything into making the SRT10
a real driver's truck. The next year, SRT would
turn their attention to their first non-Dodge product: the Chrysler Crossfire. (thundering)
♪ Crossfire ♪ ♪ Don't get caught up in the ♪ ♪ Crossfire ♪
(thundering) And like the SLK AMG, the Crossfire SRT6 came
with a super charged intercooled V6 pushing
330 horse power, baby. (car revs) The Crossfire was a huge win for Chrysler, as people were super impressed
with how nice it was. And the supercharged mill under the hood was a nice little bonus. Seven SRT engineers went over to Germany to develop the Crossfire, spending their time testing
the coup on the autobahn and Papenburg Test Track. But because the car was
a little more German than it was Yankee, SRT was itching to get
started on another project. A return to why did you
make this car so fast form. Dan Knott was a Chrysler company man who had been with the company since 1988. In 2002, he was made head of SRT where he got the ball rolling on a special project for the division. Dan really liked Jeeps. And a few years later he would
be in charge of the brand. Like the SRT Neons and Rams before it, Dan really wanted a Jeep that would kick all kinds
of butt on the track. The Wrangler was too off road focused to be the right car for the job. But the Cherokee? Hmm. That could work. SRT started by yanking
out the whole drive train, replacing the stock 3.7 liter V6, and stuffing in a thick 6.1
liter 420 horse power Hemi V8. They designed a brand new torque
converter and transfer case to give the Cherokee
full-time, all wheel drive, which is would need to pull off zero to 60 times of 4.8 seconds. (car revs) Around the same time as
the Cherokee project, SRT was also hopping up a
bunch of other Chrysler models. There was the Magnum SRT8
with its 6.1 liter Hemi. The 300C, Charger and Challenger SRTs got a similar treatment. Even the Caliber hatchback was hopped up to make 285 horse power. The team was puttin' the
Hemi in darn near errythang. Determined to let everyone know that the SRT badge meant muscle! To really send the message home, SRT became its own brand in 2012. That meant when you
wanted to get a Charger, Challenger, 300, or Cherokee SRT, you weren't buying one from
Dodge, Chrysler, or Jeep. It was an SRT! This was a little confusing
for a lot of consumers. The goal was to unify all of
Chrysler's performance cars under one roof with the
new Viper leading the way. But even Dodge nerds like Nolan thought it didn't make much sense. And the independent SRT
brand was the dis, bleh! Dissolved. Dissolved. Dissolved just two years later. With all the models going back to their respective home brands. But just a year after that,
SRT would launch a model that would completely reignite the flames, bringing the fire to a
height never seen before! They were workin' on a
new Challenger project whose goal was to hit 600 horsey power, making it one of, if not the most powerful
passenger car in the U.S. Work was goin' swimmingly, until they learned that
Ford's new Shelby GT500 would make over 660 horse power. Crap! SRT's head of power train
development Chris Cowland was a hard man to please and would not be content
with a second place trophy! So SRT would go bigger, way bigger. This top of the line Challenger
would have to be so powerful that SRT's right to the horse power throne would be undeniable. "We will make 707 horse power," Chris whispered to himself in the mirror. Chris and his closest associates didn't tell upper management
what they were doing. They did their work in secret until all their goals had been met. The new engine got 22 miles
per gallon on the highway, but also hustled the car to
a 10.8 second quarter mile. And of course, it made
over 700 horse power. It was ready! The Challenger and Charger
Hellcats made their debut in 2015 and immediately put SRT on
top of the muscle car game. The Hellcat twins were
unapologetic with their purpose. They're big, fast, mean,
and really, really loud. (car revs) You could even get the Challenger Hellcat with a six speed manual. Sure the automatic is
technically faster to six speed, but come on! Over 700 horsies and three pedals, what more could a man want? Oh, yes? 840 horse powers? That is correct. You're such a smart boy. SRT stepped up their own
game by developing the Demon. Dodge Demon. A purpose built street legal drag car that runs nines at the drag strip. It might look like the Hellcat, but it's totally different underneath! And if you want to know more, check out this episode right up here. (dramatic music)
(Screaming) But SRT wasn't done! Come on, you knew they weren't. These guys literally can't stop. They're horse power junkies. They entered in a pact with
the god of speed and sound, and if they stopped working, the god of speed and sound
will come up out of the ground in and envelop the SRT headquarters, sparking the new world order, and ending life on this
planet as we know it. Knowing they have to
keep the prophecy at bay, SRT put the Hellcat's
engine into another host. This time with the whole family in mind. The Jeep Track Hawk was built in the spirit of
the original Cherokee SRT8. But this time around with
770 horse power on tap, and all wheel drive that will literally make
you forget to breathe. Ask me how I know. (car revs) (giggling) You have to remind yourself to breathe. With the 0-60 at 3.5 seconds, SRT has designed the world's
fastest accelerating SUV. Unfortunately, the father
of the original SRT8, Dan Knott, passed away in 2012. But I know he would have
been extremely proud of SRT's work on the track off. There was a lot of speculation
around SRT's next project. Would it be a new Viper? An even more extreme Challenger? A Hellcat Caravan? The answer to all of those is No. In June 2018, we learned
that the next SRT build will be another Ram. But instead of a V10 Viper motor, it's gettin' the Hellcat treatment. This new Ram will be
outfitted for off road duty, aimed squarely at the Ford Raptor. It's name? TRX. (inspiring music) - Say it again. - We have a T-Rex. - Thanks for watching! Make sure you hit that
subscribe button right here. We didn't talk much about the Viper because we have an episode on it. So click this and watch it. Check out this episode on the
Daytona and the SuperBird. We got new merch! Go to shop.donut.media and check it out. Follow me on Instagram @jamespumphrey, follow Donut @donutmedia. I love you. (belches)
N E O N
L Y F E
Respect your neon elders. (lol)
Just as I finalized my paperwork on the newest SRT in the family. It's my day. (I Pick up Saturday)
My dad just got his dream car, a Challenger 2012 SRT8 392 this week. Great timing!
Loved the part on my Ram! Just got it a few weeks ago and it's as bananas to drive as it is on paper.
SRT's greatest strength is their sense of humour. Every product is hilarious.
CROSSFIAH
Since we are in a thread about SRT, here is mine: https://imgur.com/T2LElsl
The best car I have owned, certainly the quickest as well.
Surprised they didn't mention the earlier ACR neons, it's not like the SRT variant was a completely new idea for them, it was just more tuner focused than offering a good drivers car.