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2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8 Road & Track Test

Keeping the Hot, Hot!

OK, lets get this straight. Chrysler takes the most powerful car in its class and pumps it up with an additional 85-horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque? With such a move its pretty clear that Detroits number three automaker definitely believes in the team leadership creed of keeping the hot, hot in order to get the warm warmer, and leaving the cold behind..." or something like that.

And I suppose, rather than attempting to bolster its weakest models with racy add-ons that arent going to fool anyone, strengthening its brand image by juicing up its best-selling flagship sedan makes a lot of sense. After all, theres an argument that substantiates such actions, a marketing dogma which purports that drawing greater attention to a halo model will result in increased interest in more pedestrian vehicles such as minivans and crossovers. Chrysler tried this with the Crossfire, to some success, but really its 300 has cast a much larger halo across the winged blue-ribbon brand, and unlike the two-seat

The 300C SRT8 is the halo car of halo cars, the top dog among Dobermans. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

sports car is making a rather large profit.

The 300C SRT8 is the halo car of halo cars, the top dog among Dobermans; and with that (unofficial) title commands a respect on the road that few rivals can even hope to emulate. I know this first hand, because Ive seen the look on the faces of stunned passersby, the knowledgeable car buffs who realize with mouths agape, exactly what it was that shook the very ground they were standing on - 10-spoke, 20-inch rims and low-profile performance rubber, a unique front fascia featuring integrated circular fog lamps, a subtle rear decklid spoiler, big fat chrome tipped dual exhaust pipes, and, if you can spot it, a discrete SRT8 badge fixed to the trunk, being the only

The 6.1-liter HEMI V8 is plenty capable of increasing a bodys flow of endorphins. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

outward clues.

While its high-output 6.1-liter HEMI V8 doesnt thunder to the same degree as a hog "silenced" with sawed off short pipes, its rumbling exhaust note is plenty capable of increasing a bodys flow of endorphins. A quick blip of the throttle smoothes the engines gentle lope, and simultaneously launches the big sedan with as much force as false bravery can muster. Sure, Ill admit that I had a few quivering thoughts about just how to manage such a monster on the open track, but once Id left the Mont-Tremblant pit lane and opened up the throttle it was too late for cowardice. The track dips dramatically at first, bending into a lethargic right-hander before darting 90-degrees to the right and then another 90 to the left again. Getting this combination of complex corners

The SRT8 picks up speed alarmingly fast. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

right is a feat Im still attempting to master, despite having driven this course on four separate occasions this year alone, but the grand sedan follows my line with minimal tire squeal and maximum adhesion, clipping the curbs with adequate suspension travel so as not to be thrown off its course, before drifting to the outside of the track upon exit, readying for a long, sweeping left-hand curve that allows a tempting opportunity to stretch its legs.

Stretch it does, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 mph on a reverse camber corner, thats enough for a first run in a car that Im hardly familiar with yet. After dabbing the brakes a bit to set up the next curve, the track sweeps to the right, allowing a nip of the curb again before charging down the first back straight... well its straight other than an off-camber dogleg about a quarter of the way down.

This is where the SRT8 picks up speed alarmingly fast,

Even the sizeable curbs are no match for the SRT8s adequately tall suspension travel. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

alarmingly because a hairpin right-hander can sneak up in a rather disconcerting fashion, but no worries as the large cars all-disc Brembo braking system clamps down hard on its huge rotors with red-painted calipers, scrubbing off speed in uncanny fashion and once again setting up what might be the most important corner on the circuit.

If you dont get this one right, staying far enough to the left of the track before turning sharply to the right, nipping the curb and slowly unwinding the wheel so that the car finds its way to the far side of the exit, its a long, lonely uphill grind to the crest of the second back straight. Again, the SRT8 is surprisingly easy to negotiate at an alarmingly quick rate, body roll minimized even when asked to do the stuff of two-seat sports cars. I manhandle it through the corner with a deftness that goes beyond my normal abilities, a considerable feat being that I previously switched off the electronic stability program so as not

With each passing lap, I was gaining greater respect for a car that really shouldnt be able to execute what it has being asked to do. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

to burn through the ABS-enhanced four-wheel discs. I feather the throttle at exit, continuing the downward motion with my right foot towards full power, on my way up the back straight. The speed climbs once again... 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 mph, before the necessity to get hard on the binders in order to set up a seemingly hard right-hand sweeper.

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