Dodge Retakes Control of SRT, Announces New Products

Stephen Elmer
by Stephen Elmer

Pour one out for performance car maker SRT, which is being consolidated back into the Dodge brand.

That means that the SRT Viper will be once again be known as the Dodge Viper. Ralph Gilles will remain the Senior vice president of Product Design and President and CEO of Motorsports at Dodge, but will no longer be the CEO of SRT the now defunct brand. Tim Kuniskis will lead the new effort and continue his role as President and CEO of the Dodge Brand.

“I want to thank Ralph for his dedication to the SRT brand,” FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said today. “Under Ralph’s leadership, the SRT brand expanded its vehicle lineup to include more highly customized models and received numerous automotive awards and distinctions.”

SEE ALSO: SRT Viper Sales Slump Prompts Production Slowdown

Moving forward, the SRT nameplate will be a “performance halo” under the Dodge brand, Kuniskis said.

As for future vehicles, SRT plans to release a performance version of the Journey crossover in 2017 and a turbocharged, all wheel-drive SRT Dart in 2016. The Viper will be refreshed in 2015 while the SRT Challenger and Charger are due for an update sometime this summer.

The fate of all the other existing SRT vehicles, including the SRT Jeep Grand Cherokee and SRT Chrysler 300 are still unknown.

GALLERY: SRT Viper Anodized Carbon Edition

Discuss this story at our Dodge Viper forum

Stephen Elmer
Stephen Elmer

Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>

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  • PJM361 PJM361 on May 25, 2014

    Finally some common sense. They should also go back to calling the top performance models R/T like in the '60s & '70s instead of the stupid srt

    • Jamesaray Jamesaray on Jul 03, 2014

      Uhhh, they dont call them R/Ts because they have R/Ts already. The SRT is a step up from the R/T (different engine, different suspension, different brakes, different interior, different wheels, different tires, and different exterior accents). Its the same as an SS Camaro being a step up from an RS and then the ZL1 is a step up from the SS. You see the Camaro RS would be like the Challenger SE, then the Camaro SS would be like the Challenger R/T, and finally the Camaro ZL1 would be like the Challenger SRT. Unfortunately, Chevy has no Camaro to compare to the Hell Cat Challenger (YET).

  • Dave Dave on Jun 07, 2014

    Where is the Ram 1500 SRT? I'm tired of waiting.......

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