3 SRTs for the Road
Viper, Barracuda...and One More
Chrysler is said to be working on a third model to add to its new SRT brand,
which launches late this year with the 2013 Viper. A new-age SRT Barracuda will
be the nascent brand's second model.
Chrysler launched its
Street & Racing Technology models in the last decade as performance versions
of existing models, from the Dodge Neon SRT4 to the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and
Dodge Ram SRT10. The 2013 SRT Viper drops the Dodge moniker.
Last January, we broke
news that a new pony-musclecar would join the SRT Viper in the lineup. The SRT
Barracuda won't necessitate revival of the Plymouth brand and will eventually
replace the Dodge Challenger. The SRT Barracuda should appear by the 2015 model
year, same as for the next-generation Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, while
the Challenger may live on into the 2017 model year.
The Barracuda will be based on Chrysler's new LA rear-drive
platform, which is downsized from the full-size LY platform (Chrysler 300/Dodge
Charger), or the Challenger's previous-generation, LX RWD platform. Fiat also
will use the LA platform to underpin several of its cars, most notably the
replacement for the front-drive Alfa Romeo 159 and likely a successor to the
larger, BMW 5 Series-size FWD Alfa 166 produced from 1998 to 2007.
So what will SRT Number
3 be? Two possibilities are a successor to the Dodge Ram SRT10 and a small,
two-seat sports car. There are issues with either idea. Ford has had unexpected
success with the F-150 SVT Raptor. A Ram-based SRT designed more for extreme
off-roading is a good prospect. However, the Raptor does fall under the Ford
F-150 brand, and it's hard to imagine Ram splitting off a separate truck
model.
As for the sports car,
Chrysler has teased us with a number of four-cylinder two-seat concepts over
the years, most recently with the 2007 Dodge Demon
concept. It was designed to be a Mazda Miata competitor, and
that's where this idea runs into trouble.
Mazda and Fiat earlier this year announced plans to build a
new, RWD Alfa Romeo Duetto Spyder-style sports car on the same line as the next
MX-5 Miata in Hiroshima, Japan. The next Miata, due in 2014, and the Alfa, to
launch about a year after the Mazda, won't directly compete because Fiat is
attempting to make Alfa more of a BMW competitor. The Miata's platform would be
convenient for an SRT sports car, but the Chrysler product would compete in
price and positioning with the Mazda, to avoid competing with the Alfa.
While Fiat and Chrysler
CEO Sergio Marchionne has indicated he plans further strategic alliances with
Mazda, the SRT sports car doesn't seem so strategic. While Mazda used to share
its midsize platform the Ford Fusion, there's not enough room in the global
small sports car market to share the MX-5 platform with two other
models.
How will Chrysler
execute a third SRT model? Let the speculation commence.
Viper, Barracuda...and One More
Chrysler is said to be working on a third model to add to its new SRT brand,
which launches late this year with the 2013 Viper. A new-age SRT Barracuda will
be the nascent brand's second model.
Chrysler launched its
Street & Racing Technology models in the last decade as performance versions
of existing models, from the Dodge Neon SRT4 to the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and
Dodge Ram SRT10. The 2013 SRT Viper drops the Dodge moniker.
Last January, we broke
news that a new pony-musclecar would join the SRT Viper in the lineup. The SRT
Barracuda won't necessitate revival of the Plymouth brand and will eventually
replace the Dodge Challenger. The SRT Barracuda should appear by the 2015 model
year, same as for the next-generation Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, while
the Challenger may live on into the 2017 model year.
The Barracuda will be based on Chrysler's new LA rear-drive
platform, which is downsized from the full-size LY platform (Chrysler 300/Dodge
Charger), or the Challenger's previous-generation, LX RWD platform. Fiat also
will use the LA platform to underpin several of its cars, most notably the
replacement for the front-drive Alfa Romeo 159 and likely a successor to the
larger, BMW 5 Series-size FWD Alfa 166 produced from 1998 to 2007.
So what will SRT Number
3 be? Two possibilities are a successor to the Dodge Ram SRT10 and a small,
two-seat sports car. There are issues with either idea. Ford has had unexpected
success with the F-150 SVT Raptor. A Ram-based SRT designed more for extreme
off-roading is a good prospect. However, the Raptor does fall under the Ford
F-150 brand, and it's hard to imagine Ram splitting off a separate truck
model.
As for the sports car,
Chrysler has teased us with a number of four-cylinder two-seat concepts over
the years, most recently with the 2007 Dodge Demon
concept. It was designed to be a Mazda Miata competitor, and
that's where this idea runs into trouble.
Mazda and Fiat earlier this year announced plans to build a
new, RWD Alfa Romeo Duetto Spyder-style sports car on the same line as the next
MX-5 Miata in Hiroshima, Japan. The next Miata, due in 2014, and the Alfa, to
launch about a year after the Mazda, won't directly compete because Fiat is
attempting to make Alfa more of a BMW competitor. The Miata's platform would be
convenient for an SRT sports car, but the Chrysler product would compete in
price and positioning with the Mazda, to avoid competing with the Alfa.
While Fiat and Chrysler
CEO Sergio Marchionne has indicated he plans further strategic alliances with
Mazda, the SRT sports car doesn't seem so strategic. While Mazda used to share
its midsize platform the Ford Fusion, there's not enough room in the global
small sports car market to share the MX-5 platform with two other
models.
How will Chrysler
execute a third SRT model? Let the speculation commence.
Auther: Mike Connor
From the September, 2012 issue of
MotorTrend
To read the article on its original web site click here.
From the September, 2012 issue of
MotorTrend
To read the article on its original web site click here.