SRT is back. The dormant performance sub-brand from Stellantis has been officially revived as of Wednesday morning, promising to deliver new enthusiast-focused, highly capable machines from the likes of Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler.
Tim Kuniskis, Ram CEO and newly appointed head of American brands for Stellantis, has been tapped to oversee SRT's resurrection. The sub-brand, originally founded in 1989 to build the Viper, is currently used on just one model, the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, an SUV that's been on sale in limited numbers since 2020.
"We’re getting the band back together," Kuniskis said in a statement. "SRT is another box we needed to check as we head into a product launch cadence, enabling more performance than we’ve ever seen before. We’re working with our product development and technology organization to select the best engineers in powertrain and vehicle dynamics to build a team worthy of the SRT name."
Stellantis hasn't said what exactly the new SRT team will be working on, but we can make a few educated guesses. With the return of the Hemi V-8, SRT will likely go back to making burnout-centric muscle cars that focus on speed and noise, similar to what was happening in the golden age of the Hellcat. A teaser video (above) depicting V-8 noises and telling viewers "it's time to get loud again" supports that theory.
Cars that carry the SRT badge will "push the boundaries of power, aerodynamics, handling, and technology, on both the street and the track," according to Stellantis.
There's no telling when the next new SRT-branded vehicle will arrive, though considering the speed at which Kuniskis has reformed Ram so far, we wouldn't be surprised to see something before the end of the year. Either way, Stellantis CEO Antoino Filosa is putting a lot of faith in the recently-unretired former Dodge CEO.
“Connecting with our customers, delivering the products and experiences they want, is critical to reaching our full potential,” Filosa said in a statement. “Tim has proven time and time again that he is masterful at building brands that reach the heart and soul of the customer. We will leverage his energy, his strategic mindset, and his competitive spirit to supercharge all our brand activities.”
