- Stellantis is rebooting its high-performance SRT division to reconnect with its enthusiast audience.
- Former Dodge boss and current Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis will oversee SRT and all American brands.
- Kuniskis promises future SRT vehicles will have “more performance than we’ve ever seen before.”
Stellantis lost a lot of credibility with the enthusiast community when it retired the Hemi V8 and tried to convince those same people that an electric car was a true muscle car. Now the automaker is taking steps to fix that mess, and one of them is to jump-start its SRT high-performance division.
For more than 20 years, the Street and Racing Technologies badge has been worn by everything from the rabid Neon SRT-4 compact to the SRT Viper, though the team behind SRT can trace its origins to the 1980s. But Stellantis axed the SRT department in 2021, and right now the sole SRT-badged offering is the Hellcat-powered Durango. Don’t expect things to stay that way for long following today’s announcement.
Related: Ram Screwed Up Dumping The V8 So They Brought It Back
And the even better news for hardcore fans is the revelation of who will lead this SRT reboot. Tim Kuniskis, who as boss of Dodge pushed the brand to make crazy machines like the Challenger SRT Demon 170, will oversee SRT as well as Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep. He’ll also carry on as CEO of Ram, a position he accepted in December 2024, seven months after retiring from Dodge. We sure hope he’s got a good PA because them’s a lot of plates to keep spinning.
“We’re getting the band back together,” said Kuniskis of the SRT news. “SRT is another box we needed to check as we head into a product launch cadence enabling more performance than we’ve ever seen before. We’re working with our product development and technology organization to select the best engineers in powertrain and vehicle dynamics to build a team worthy of the SRT name.”
Stellantis says the reinvigorated SRT division will take charge of the Direct Connection performance parts program as well as handle all North American racing activities involving the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands. Those activities include a return to NHRA drag racing and Ram’s participation in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2026.
What’s you’re favorite SRT product and what would you like to see the brand deliver under Kuniskis? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
