Adirondack Auto Service

Dodge's Street and Racing Technology group is alive and well, and products like the forthcoming Charger SRT8 should drive the point home. This is no Caliber knockoff, it's a 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 with variable high-lift cams and an estimated 465 horsepower and 465 pounds-feet of torque. Oh, yeah, there's a four-door sedan that comes with it.

Like the Challenger SRT8, the Charger SRT8 gets Chrysler's latest Hemi V-8, which propels the car to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds and completes the quarter-mile in the high 12-second range, Dodge says. The car's five-speed automatic employs paddle shifters, a first for any SRT product.The performance sedan goes on sale sometime this year.

Based on the redesigned 2011 Charger, the SRT8 also boasts a performance-oriented adaptive suspension and conventional hydraulic steering rather than the Charger's electro-hydraulic setup. Outside, the bumper has a black center finish, giving the grille and lower air inlet a one-piece appearance. The hood gets a functional opening to cool the engine bay, and a spoiler sits atop the trunk. Twenty-inch wheels house 14.2-inch front brake discs with four-piston Brembo calipers.

Inside, drivers get more aggressively bolstered sport seats, more aluminum trim and a Harmon Kardon stereo. The steering wheel bears an SRT logo and a flat-bottomed rim; beyond it, an information display between the gauges can show various performance metrics. Want to know how quick you just ran the quarter-mile? It will tell you. (So, likely, will the officer who pulls you over. Keep your racing to the track, gents.)

If you are shopping for a performance sedan that can still haul the family around Plattsburgh or Burlington, look no further.  BMW's, Mercedes and that Audi will all be eaten up by this torque producing monster!

 More photos below.