Chrysler is rumored to be working on a third model to add to its new SRT brand, which launches later this year in the form of the impressively all new 2013 Viper… But wait, there’s more…there will also be an all new SRT Barracuda joining the revitalized brand as a second model.
The reincarnated Dodge Barracuda, or “Cuda” as the car aficionados affectionately refer to it as will have a brand spanking new 6.2 liter V8 which has critics rubbing their hands together in gleeful anticipation. While not much more is being offered at this point, we do know Dodge will have to work hard to keep up with the competition in this segment which includes the Camaro ZL1 and Ford Shelby GT500, in order to do this, it will have to give at the minimum 500 horsepower.Chrysler launched its Street & Racing Technology models in the last decade as performance versions of existing models, from the Dodge Neon SRT4 to the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and Dodge Ram SRT10. The 2013 SRT Viper drops the Dodge moniker.
Last January, news came that a new pony/muscle-car would join the SRT Viper in the lineup. The SRT Barracuda won’t necessitate revival of the Plymouth brand and will eventually replace the Dodge Challenger. The SRT Barracuda should appear by the 2015 model year, same as for the next-generation Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, while the Challenger may live on into the 2017 model year.
The Barracuda will be based on Chrysler’s new LA rear-drive platform, which is downsized from the full-size LY platform (Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger), or the Challenger’s previous-generation, LX RWD platform. Fiat also will use the LA platform to underpin several of its cars, most notably the replacement for the front-drive Alfa Romeo 159 and likely a successor to the larger, BMW 5 Series-size FWD Alfa 166 produced from 1998 to 2007.
The Barracuda will be based on Chrysler’s new LA rear-drive platform, which is downsized from the full-size LY platform (Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger), or the Challenger’s previous-generation, LX RWD platform. Fiat also will use the LA platform to underpin several of its cars, most notably the replacement for the front-drive Alfa Romeo 159 and likely a successor to the larger, BMW 5 Series-size FWD Alfa 166 produced from 1998 to 2007.
So what will SRT Number 3 be? Two possibilities are a successor to the Dodge Ram SRT10 and a small, two-seat sports car.
