Chrysler 300C SRT8 Touring Galery.............
Exactly a year since the Chrysler Group introduced the 425-horsepower (317 kW) Chrysler 300C SRT8 for Europe and other markets outside of North America at the 2005 Geneva Show, the Chrysler Group has confirmed that the versatile 300C Touring wagon will also be available as a high-performance SRT model.
Like the sedan, the new high-performance rear-wheel drive version of the already popular Chrysler 300C Touring arrives in international showrooms in the second half of 2006 and will be available in both left- and right-hand drive.
“The HEMI® is a critical ingredient to the success of the Chrysler 300C,” said Dan Knott, Director – Street and Racing Technology (SRT), Chrysler Group. “With the two new Chrysler 300C SRT8 models, we are now adding even more horsepower to the HEMI® and even more performance to this charismatic Chrysler.”
The Chrysler 300C SRT8 Touring will be as sensational a drive as the sedan and the preliminary performance target is 0-100 km/h in the low five-sec. range. Top speed will be electronically limited to 270 km/h (168 mph).
“With the Chrysler 300C SRT8 Touring, we’re delivering the ultimate performance wagon,” said Thomas Hausch, Executive Director, International Sales and Marketing. “With its world-class handling, benchmark braking, functional exterior enhancements, race-inspired interior appointments, versatile cabin and load space and a jaw-dropping 425 horsepower (317 kW), we’re sure this new model will capture driving enthusiasts in Europe and other international markets when it goes on sale later this year.”
Hausch concluded, “The 300C family provides a unique proposition to European buyers by delivering expressive Chrysler design and, in SRT8 form, immense power – coupled with exceptional cargo volumes, thoughtful features like our unique access rear liftgate on the wagon, premium appointments and state-of-the-art technology.”
Powertrain
The 317 kW (425 hp), normally aspirated 6.1-litre HEMI® engine is the highest specific-output engine ever offered by the Chrysler Group. Its 52.05 kW-per-litre rating exceeds even that of the legendary 1966 `Street HEMI.’ Torque is rated at 569 N•m (420 lb.-ft.) at 4800 rpm.
Although the Chrysler HEMI® was born in the 1950s and entered into legend in the 1960s and ’70s, today’s version took much of its inspiration from the original – particularly the namesake hemispherical combustion chambers that provide power and efficiency.
When Chrysler Group’s Street and Racing Team (SRT) set out to develop a more powerful HEMI® for the Chrysler 300C SRT8, they were mindful of the engine’s heritage, which led to adopting traditional HEMI® engine cues such as an orange painted cylinder block and black valve covers.
The SRT powertrain engineers who developed the Chrysler 300C SRT8 Touring’s engine achieved more horsepower by adding increasing capacity, increasing the compression ratio, redesigning the cylinder head intake and exhaust systems for increased flow, and increasing engine speed.
To get more displacement, SRT engineers bored out the diameter of the cylinders in the Chrysler 300C SRT8’s HEMI® by 3.5 mm each, to increase the total displacement to 6.1-litres from 5.7-litres. Compression ratio was also increased to 10.3:1 from 9.6:1, unleashing more energy in the combustion process.
Engine breathing was increased with new high-flow cylinder heads, a specially designed intake manifold, and exhaust `headers’ with individual tubes encased in a stainless steel shell, all unique to the new SRT8’s 6.1-litre HEMI® engine. Larger diameter valves and reshaped cylinder ports in the heads allow for maximized air flow. The intake manifold was designed with larger diameter runners for higher-speed tuning. Exhaust is routed through a larger-diameter 70 mm (2.75 in.) exhaust system (up by 10 percent) with 90 mm (3.5 in.) chrome tail pipes.