I'm rather late to this thread, but from public statements made by Mike Manley, I would have guessed an increase in hybridization. While it does not appeal to me as a long time fan of the v8 roar, that seems to be the direction in which things are being pushed . . . That said, if they were to develop a hybrid that had both a roaring V-8 combined with an instant-on 1,000 lb. ft electric motor I can see some appeal there. I don't know how much involvement SRT would have in something along those lines, but it may account for all the crickets.
I was just thinking the other day how I like the idea of SRT being either brand neutral or it's own "brand" such that you can call the Trackhawk engine a Hellcat without being technically incorrect.
One change I would like to see is the "S" in SRT. I would change that to Performance Race Team so it could include off-road as well as on-road racing.
Wasn't the demise of the Viper associated with crash test expenses? Not sure how they'd get around that, but I do miss the Vipers being in the lineup. I've always been fond of them.
There's a lot of things SRT could be working on. What little inside information I have has nothing to do with SRT so I have no hints to drop. I will say though, I am surprised that some of the things I saw some time ago have yet to make it into a public announcement. However, there are some rumored model updates pending that may reveal which direction some things went.
As a TRX nut, the trickle of information has been painful, but I get it. It's a business and they are focused on selling the vehicles people can buy today, lest they leak too much information about the future compelling those in the know to wait when what the business wants is sales for this quarter. They do seem to be holding their cards tight to their chests.
Perhaps - and I'm guessing here, they're combining a Challenger and a Viper. Something along the lines of a shortened, two-seater, track focused Challenger to go after the Camaros, Corvettes, and Mustangs and the handling advantage they hold over the Challengers and Chargers which have functional rear seats instead of those jokes the competitors put out which are nothing more than glorified child seat platforms or additional storage. That would both reduce weight, shorten the wheelbase to improve cornering, and with some other modifications (think body/appearance) be a completely different vehicle than the Challenger or the Charger and share an Alfa/Maserati platform for scalability. Is there a market for such a thing? Gots me, but it would be cool to shut up those hordes droning on about how Camaros, Corvettes, and Mustangs all hold an edge on the track over the Dodge performance options when 99% of those cars never see a track anyway.
That way . . .
- Dodge would own the street (already does).
- Dodge would own the track (used to with the Viper).
- Ram would own the dunes (TRX).
- Jeep would own the rocks (already does).
I've also seen a fair amount of interest in online forums pertaining to an on-road muscle truck. They didn't last in the past and I don't think the market for them has expanded enough to warrant each of the big three making one, but currently, nobody makes one, and Ram could make money being the only game in town much like Ford is still making a killing with the Raptor being the only production quality pre-runner available. I also hope Ram designs the production TRX to accommodate 37" tires - even if it doesn't come stock with them. I can understand not making that a stock offering because of the increased weight of rotating mass and accompanying fuel mileage concerns (not that FCA is concerned, but that regulations and fines take the fun out of life). So coming with 35s, but having space for 37s would be awesome - I hope that's the route they take (the mules observed wore 35s). Raptor owners wanting 37s have to fit new fenders - and that takes the expense off the charts (and much depends on the quality of the fabricators).
All of that could be in scope for SRT, I don't know. I suspect the TRX and off road ventures may be out of scope, but the amount of interest the TRX has generated may change that mindset.
One thing, however, is very certain. 2020, the 2021 model year is going to be absolutely amazing for Mopar fans. Things are already pretty spectacular and seem to be continuing to improve.
