Say Farewell to the 300 SRT, America

2014 Chrysler 300 SRT8 (Credit: © Chrysler)

Chrysler’s experiment with making SRT into its own brand is officially over, as the performance arm has become a piece of the Dodge lineup. This leaves us with a pair of popular SRT models with rather uncertain futures: the 300 SRT and the Grand Cherokee SRT.

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The 300 SRT has long been the perfect American car, as it combines a 475-horsepower, HEMI V-8 with all the luxury most American buyers want. Despite its perfect fit for American buyers, a report from Automotive News claims that the soon-to-be-unveiled, revised 300 will not have an SRT version here in America. However, the 300 SRT will carry on in select right-hand-drive markets through 2015.

The 300 SRT’s elimination from American dealers shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as Chrysler’s five-year plan made no mention of an SRT-tuned 300 and all the prototypes of the 300 SRT caught testing have been right-hand drive.

As for the Grand Cherokee SRT, Jeep plans to keep the model around for 2015, but there are no concrete plans for the future. Recently, Jeep trademarked the name “Trackhawk,” and a company rep told Automotive News that this name is likely to replace the SRT in 2016. The source was quick to point out that this plan s not set in stone and could change.

Now comes the speculation; since the Grand Cherokee is possibly getting a Trackhawk model to replace the SRT, might Chrysler be working on a new performance-oriented version of the 300 to replace the SRT? As of today, all signs point toward no, but with enough clamoring from buyers, Chrysler may not have a choice but to add one.

2 Comments

1. 

   Steve Matsukawa

   Oct 30, 2014 at 10:19 pm

   The whole SRT thing was a just a paint and decal thing to begin with, with the exceptions of the Viper and Jeep Grand Cherokee it was just a marketing exercise that failed dismally.

   Chrysler really needs a revamp of its marketing efforts which has always been Chrysler’s Achilles Heel.

   Reply
2. Taskmaster

   Nov 4, 2014 at 9:47 am

   SRT Dart! Where are you already??!!! Enough of these heavy v8 gas drinking mother ships! Bring American an affordable 2.4 litter turbo all wheel drive 325 hp light weight gas efficient car again. The Neon SRT was a good start in the right direction but the SRT Caliber was a disaster.

   Reply