Stellantis Teases SRT Performance Brand Relaunch With V8 Noises

You have to respect the speed at which the North American parts of Stellantis – Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler (okay, maybe not that last one) – are trying to make amends after the frosty reception to decisions like getting rid of the Hemi V8 in the Ram pickup and making the most powerful version of the new Charger electric.

Following the stepping down of former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who was rumoured to be behind lots of these decisions, the four brands are swiftly attempting to put things right in the eyes of their fans.

That began last month with the return of the Hemi in the Ram, and now the company has announced the comeback of SRT, the performance badge that once adorned cars like the Dodge Viper, Charger and Challenger, as well as hot versions of Chrysler and Jeep models.

The badge never quite died off – in North America, you can still get a Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat SUV – but it looked like it was going to, with the branding absent from any versions of the new Charger, electric or not.

Now, though, Tim Kuniskis, who has been promoted from the head of Ram to oversee all four of Stellantis’ North American brands, has this to say:

“We’re getting the band back together. 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 organisation to select the best engineers in powertrain and vehicle dynamics to build a team worthy of the SRT name.”

All this will be music to the ears of fans of SRT’s old burnout-friendly products, as will the fact that the short teaser released to promote the relaunch features some distinctive V8 noises towards the end.

We don’t know when we might see the first car from the relaunched SRT, but rumours abound that the Hemi V8, which is enjoying a rebound of its own, is going to find its way into the new Charger, currently only available as an EV or with turbo straight-six power. Could that be the car to mark the brand’s return?