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Dodge's
new SRT-4 performance sedan, sized in
the compact class and fitted with street-legal
mechanical gear to run fast and furious,
has a turbo-charger and inter-cooler
attached to a dual-cam 2.4-liter four-in-line
tuned for high output with a large-hole
throttle body and high-flow intake manifold.
It's rated up to 230 hp and comes with
a heavy-duty five-speed manual shifter
and high-capacity clutch. Stopwatch
times for a romp from zero to 60 in
SRT-4 easily clip below six seconds.
Now
tie the car's performance figures to
some competitive price points and you
end up with the swiftest production
car in the American market priced below
$20,000. Think of it as a factory-sanctioned
and affordable route into the world
of street racers customized off compact-class
front-wheel-drive (FWD) sedans.
Aggressive
styling at the prow reflects cues of
street performance machines with a deep
fascia etched with multiple air intake
ports and cross-hair grille plus a horizontal
port carved into the shapely hood. At
the tail a tall basket-handle spoiler
flies off the deck and works at speed
to exert force on rear wheels and pin
them to the pavement.
The
cockpit has the look of a customized
car. Front seats, patterned after a
wrap-around design for buckets in the
SRT-10 Viper, contain reinforcements
in lateral and lumbar segments to support
the torso when this car runs through
a wiggly chute. Gauges with silver rims
reflect easy-to-read silver faces, and
similar satin metal trim on the door
handles and the center stack with rotary
knobs for climate control.
The
theme continues in the foot well with
all three pedals made of cast aluminum
with dimple surfaces, while the short-throw
stick extending off the console has
a cue ball shift knob also in satin
silver.
Read
our Review: Dodge
Neon SRT4
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