Dodge Challenger Forum banner

Chrysler to make stripped down SRT

8K views 43 replies 27 participants last post by  USRWDV8 
#1 ·
Hitch is that its for Australia. And its the 300, not the Challenger. But this goes to show that if a community wants something bad enough Chrysler is listening. So all those people who keep saying give me an SE/SXT model with the 6.4.. thats basically what Chrysler just did for the land down under.

Chrysler Australia is preparing to launch a new, slightly de-contented version of its 300 SRT8 performance sedan for the Australian market. The planned SRT8 model comes in response to feedback from Aussie buyers, many of whom have expressed interest in a car with the 300 SRT8's performance, but without all of the high-end features and the big sticker price.

The Chrysler 300 STR8 currently sells for around $66,000 Australian; the intended price for the new, stripped down version of the car is reported to be under $60k Australian. That would make the car an even stronger competitor for rear-drive, V8 powerhouses like the HSV Clubsport, which was recently reintroduced at $64,990 AU.

Russ Ruedisueli of Chrysler Australia tells the Brisbane Times that the lower-spec 300 will do away with things like adjustable suspension, adaptive cruise control and forged alloy wheels, while still offering the massively strong 6.4-liter Hemi V8. In fact, this "core" model SRT8 figures to be a bit quicker than the loaded version, thanks to a lighter curb weight.

SRT's Ralph Gilles has indicated that the core 300 SRT8 is being produced now, indicating that the models should be ready for Australian consumption by the middle part of 2013.
Chrysler to challenge locals with less-costly 300 SRT8 in Australia
 
#3 ·
The funny this is, they did it for the Charger ('13 Super Bee) and now the 300. Sheessh! <---You'd think that of the 3 vehicle lines (Charger, 300, and Challenger), Chrysler would think that the Challenger should be considered its top performance piece.

Yep, I guess we Challenger owners don't like performance, we like Blue Tooth connectivity, huge flat panel displays, heated "everything", and a lot of weighty options. The more the WEIGHT, the BETTER!

True vehicle performance? Nah! That's an afterthought...
 
#4 · (Edited)
unfortunatelly, they dont sell!!!!!
if your paying 42k for a stripped Charger, no leather, puny 4.3 inch radio etc, sitting in show room for months
people that are going to pay that kind of money, want the radio and the leather

i think a stripped down, 5.7L pumping out mid to low 400 hps, similar to the boss 5.0, no frills on a diet 300 to 400 lbs lighter, called it a T/A, bright colors and stripe package, would draw a lot of attention,

of course i could be wrong

Luke
 
#7 ·
Ford just stopped the Boss program, Chevy just jumped in and Dodge will be right on time when everyone else is out.
 
#11 ·
I thought I read where Ralph said SRT would not be a stripped down anything.
SRT is supposed to be top of the line performance/creature comforts
 
#13 ·
I have only owned base model R/Ts. Owned two of them so far. If Mopar offered a stripped down SRT then it's mine. Give it to me.......I'm moving to Australia.
 
  • Like
Reactions: USRWDV8
#18 ·
Never going to happen. We are talking about a company which builds cars to come in last ****ing place in every major comparison because the cost benefit analysis, run by the accountants, told them they could not make an extra $1 profit on each vehicle. Chrysler is full of the biggest god damn underachieving, excuse making, half-wit execs known to the industry. Sorry, please do not kill the messenger.
 
#21 ·
Ok I admit it, I'm the one guy that wants an R/T with a 392 as an option. I don't really know what the big deal is you just make it an engine option on the R/T, jack the price up a few thousand to cover it and all us old school guys can be happy. The rest of you can still buy the SRT and have the heated butt warmers and electric ear hair trimmers and whatever else comes on them. That seems like it would make both camps happy.

Plus I don't think it's just me that would buy one.
 
#23 ·
Ok I admit it, I'm the one guy that wants an R/T with a 392 as an option. I don't really know what the big deal is you just make it an engine option on the R/T, jack the price up a few thousand to cover it and all us old school guys can be happy. The rest of you can still buy the SRT and have the heated butt warmers and electric ear hair trimmers and whatever else comes on them. That seems like it would make both camps happy.

Plus I don't think it's just me that would buy one.
I'm with you and couldn't care less if it looked like an SXT, 18 inchers, cloth interior and all, but I think we're a niche market as some already said. We're vocal online, but a minority all the same. People want it all today - we're in an age of bundles, not a-la-carte menus. And don't forget that Dodge doesn't want to upset the guys who bought their top of the line for big bucks. Some are already pissed enough that the SXT looks dangerously close to a car they paid $15K more for, so imagine if an R/T could boast the same (in line) performance... It would have to be a detuned 392. I'd still take that if they could keep it in the low 30s, but it ain't gonna happen here. Australian market, yeah, I can see that.
 
#22 ·
I'll second that! Just look at history. The old Road Runner was introduced very late in the muscle car wars in the late 60's and was selling like hot cakes! Then the smog regulations sent it to an early grave! If Chrysler would have jumped on the band wagon when the GTO first came out ( I think it was 1964 ) it would have sold a boat load more of high horsepower cars in bare bones optioned cars. But alas it was to little and to late to be the sales King for street pouding muscle machines your average middle class American could afford to buy. If Chrysler will build it now I believe thousands of us old MoPar crazy "baby boomers" will be lining up at the Dodge dealership. The only reason I bought my Ram in 2004 was because the only vehicle Dodge offered the Hemi in was the truck ( and the Viper was and still is only a pipe dream at least for me ).
 
#25 ·
I'll take an RT base with 392....My RT has three options only and I ordered that way. ...20", roof, stp...I would have added the 392... but I didn't want the srt options or expense, and definately don't want leather as it would stick to my ass when I drive naked. .... well not totally naked, with sandals.
 
#30 ·
Dear people in this thread,
This is not the 1960's anymore.

Love,

Eric
 
  • Like
Reactions: SR7T1
#32 ·
This is not the 1960's anymore.
Apparently it is... for Australians (God love 'em). You can't call a car Challenger and make it look like it's 1970 again then stick a battery under its hood and make it radio-controlled by Google roadside markers and GPS because it's 2013. People expect a big V8 and a certain retro feel there. Same concept. The car is a throwback, so some will expect some aspects of the past to return. I believe it's come up before. The only determining factor is how many is some, and that's probably not enough in the US where we now apparently expect a butt wipe from our cars.

They won't leave the SRT to the racers, because most owners aren't, they buy the car because it's the top of the line and that's why it's so loaded.
 
#31 ·
Well since Jesus Chrysler wont do it I'm going to build mine the way it should have been built, currently saving for a 426 NA cammed and headed no SC for now I cant wait :)
 
#35 ·
Unfortunately, stripping it down of all the options doesnt really take that much weight off. The platform is a heavy car even with zero options. You might take away 200-250 pounds tops with zero options. I consider my GT500 a heavy ass car and it weighs 3800 pounds. A stripped down 392 will still weigh 3900+ pounds.
 
#37 ·
You may be right, but 250 lbs ain't bad and it's just one part of the equation. I'd go for that for simplicity, financial acessibility, and a certain raw feel. I'm talking DD, not track toy.
 
#41 ·
I've always wanted to buy a "new" high horsepower ride from ma MoPar. But the price of the SRT's are way out of my price range limiting my options to a used SRT that has a questionable past or a new vehicle with less power I won't mod till the warranty runs out. I realize the 60's are long gone. I just can't afford $50,000.
 
#42 ·
The Romans used to say, "Age quod agis", or "do what you are doing". Another way to put it is, "do one thing; do it well". Well, since the advent of electronics, and cheap electronics, it's become increasingly hard to find a product that does only what it's designed to do (try to shop for a digital clock without a radio alarm). Everything is multipurpose. Sounds great unless the cheapest of every gizmo is tacked on in order to maximize profit and meet a price that's advantageous to the manufacturer. So we buy things that are jacks-of-all-trades and that do many things (mostly useless) badly instead of one really well.
It never ceases to amaze me how blind people are to this and how they apparently lose all critical faculties in the presence of multipurpose gadgets, like primitive folks shown some shiny stuff. The iPhone is not even a good phone... Oh, the irony! :rolleyes:

I see modern cars the same way, and this is why a stripped SRT appeals to me. Affordable, nothing I don't need, and it would come with the only thing I really have a hard-on for: the biggest engine. Brakes, suspension... yes to those too, although they're secondary to me. The whole entertainment/communication center thing, not only can do without, I shun. Not a popular view, and that's why the SRT is loaded to the max. It's a status symbol before it's a car. :umbrella:
 
  • Like
Reactions: CAMMIN HEMI
#43 ·
The Romans used to say, "Age quod agis", or "do what you are doing". Another way to put it is, "do one thing; do it well". Well, since the advent of electronics, and cheap electronics, it's become increasingly hard to find a product that does only what it's designed to do (try to shop for a digital clock without a radio alarm). Everything is multipurpose. Sounds great unless the cheapest of every gizmo is tacked on in order to maximize profit and meet a price that's advantageous to the manufacturer. So we buy things that are jacks-of-all-trades and that do many things (mostly useless) badly instead of one really well.
It never ceases to amaze me how blind people are to this and how they apparently lose all critical faculties in the presence of multipurpose gadgets, like primitive folks shown some shiny stuff. The iPhone is not even a good phone... Oh, the irony! :rolleyes:

I see modern cars the same way, and this is why a stripped SRT appeals to me. Affordable, nothing I don't need, and it would come with the only thing I really have a hard-on for: the biggest engine. Brakes, suspension... yes to those too, although they're secondary to me. The whole entertainment/communication center thing, not only can do without, I shun. Not a popular view, and that's why the SRT is loaded to the max. It's a status symbol before it's a car. :umbrella:
I have a $20 tracphone I have had for three years...runs me about $8 a month and all I use it for is to talk on.
My son and his girlfriend have $200 dollar phones running them something like $80 a month and they NEVER actually talk on the things LOL
 
  • Like
Reactions: USRWDV8
#44 ·
Exactly. Everything has to be 'smart' today. Phones, guns, glass, you name it; it's the buzz word. What people don't want to recognize is that it's so we can be stupid. I actually walked into a verizon store several years ago and asked for a 'stupid' phone, one that would not be net-capable, and the sales guy told me sheepishly that, no, they didn't carry those anymore. Too much fluff and fat in today's products, so that while they could be bulletproof and dirt-cheap (but no sane corporation wants to sell that), they end up expensive, fragile, unreliable, and outdated the minute they come out - the Consumer Society's wet dream.
The stripped SRT concept is the opposite of all that, and this is why it won't happen here where we're all slaves to the system and fooled into loving it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top