I wasn’t the only one who was unkind when Stellantis presented what they think will be the future of the company. Here is a car with none of the charm of the vehicles it ostensibly replaces and making an EV worse by adding fake noise to emulate a V8…that sounded more like a V8 as rendered by a mid-90s PC
Oh how much of a difference a spec sheet makes.
SEMA is one of those events that I don’t really pay much attention to. I grew up on the times where the floor consisted almost entirely of vehicles that wouldn’t have looked out of place on opening scene of 2 Fast 2 Furious. Naturally such an image problem sticks in your mind. Nevertheless, the news occasionally brings something interesting from the ultimate Vegas trade show. And that’s what I’m looking at today.
Looks a lot better now than on the image above doesn’t it? Greyscale really didn’t suit the curves (or lack thereof) on this car. Meanwhile its nice new coat of Stryker red really lets the shape speak. I’d stop short of calling it aggressive. It rather looks like what would’ve happened if America had never stopped its love affair with the full-size 2-door sedan. And that’s brilliant because I loved that design language. The long greenhouse and meaty tires speak of pragmatism in design. It reminds me very much of the times when Chrysler would show a concept, and you could be sure the thing would be ready to buy at your nearby dealership in about a year and a half.
And when this one makes it there, you’ll have some options. Chrysler is naming them after engine displacements, because if Porsche can brand an EV “Turbo”, all bets are off. The base motor array is reported to produce 455 HP. 495, 535, 590, 630, and 670 offerings are also available for the discerning motorist. Still unreported is the top of the line model, presumably kept under wraps until Stellantis needs another PR boost.
There is, however, still the matter of the Fratzonic chambered exhaust. When people say they like engine noises, they generally do mean engine noises. Not something that can produce a sound that kinda resembles an engine. One of the EV’s selling points is the complete lack of engine noise. Even the lowliest EV reach a level of silent running hitherto impossible for almost any other land-based vehicle on the planet. Fitting a trumpet to the car so it can make as much noise as a jet during takeoff is not going to gain it favors with the sort of customer whose first question is “what’s the range”.
That is, of course, unless it can be disabled, and suddenly they are able to enjoy most of the qualities a muscle car enthusiast enjoys in their vehicle without the perceived horror of having to use gasoline to move it. The SRT Concept gets better every time they bring it out; and I hope that’s how it is until it reaches production.
EDIT: Since the curveball that created this article, Stellantis decided to throw another curveball announcing the lock of any aftermarket tunes for whatever the Charger Daytona SRT ends up becoming. If you want to add more power to it, you are at the mercy of your Dodge(y) dealer. This certainly puts a dampen on my excitement, though I don’t see a reason why we won’t get someone who figures out how to circumnavigate this restriction in a matter of hours after release.
