Chrysler has added adrenalin to attitude with a new king-of-the-hill, 300 flagship model that's blessed with the same, all-new, 6.4-litre Hemi engine as the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 that we featured yesterday.
To recap: The new Hemi V8 wields 29kW and 60Nm more than its 6.1-litre predecessor, with peak figures of 343kW and a tar-wrinkling 632Nm. More than that, Chrysler quotes an increase of 109Nm in the middle of the rev range at 2900rpm for effortless overtaking.
An active intake manifold and high-lift cams with cam phasing provide a broader spread of power, while a new active-valve exhaust system allows the fuel-saver mode (when the car runs on only four of its eight cylinders) to operate over a wider rev range - which Chrysler says will reduce fuel consumption by as much as 25 percent in cruise mode. The new kezorst also has straight-through bypass valves on the centre and rear mufflers for a suitably attitudinous soundtrack under hard acceleration.
All of which reaches the black stuff through a five-speed auto shift with both a centre gearstick and paddle shifters for manual cogswapping. In Auto mode the transmission prevents situations that might over-rev the engine but Chrysler's backroom boffins have promised that, once in Sport mode, you're in charge of the hift schedule - to the point where you can bounce it off the rev-limiter on the track or stall it in traffic.
We've seen promises like that before from premium European brands so we'll reserve judgement on the transmission until we've driven one - you listening, Chrysler SA?
The boffins also say the new 300 SRT8 will sprint from 0-100 in less than 5sec, dispose of the standing quarter in under 13, top out at 280km/h and haul down from 100km/h to a standstill in 36m, thanks to state-of-the-art Brembo brakes from Italy with big, silver-painted four-pot callipers on 360mm front and 350mm rear discs.
The "ready alert" braking system anticipates situations when the driver might need an emergency stop and uses the electronic stability control pump to push the brake pads lightly against the discs, reducing the time needed for full braking force.
The SRT8 also has a new adaptive damping suspension system, tuned specifically for this model, that uses inputs such as speed, steering angle, steering speed, brake torque, throttle position and lateral and vertical g-forces to continuously microcalibrate the settings for specific conditions.
Drivers can choose between Auto and Sport settings that shift the damping and ride characteristics from comfortable commuting to road-hugging sports settings. Even the hydraulic power steering (Chrysler is hereby commended for avoiding the fashionable but soulless electric route) has a new, heavy-duty pump and revised gearing to give the driver more direct feel.
The SRT8 runs 13mm lower than the base 300 model on seven-spoke, 20" lightweight forged-aluminium rims with deeper side sills to make it look even lower. There's a new grille with black chrome upper and lower grille surrounds and a new Chrysler wing badge, matched by special SRT8 bootlid badging, a diffuser-style rear bumper with a chromed accent bar and authoritative dual 100mm tailpipes.
Inside, the leather-wrapped, heatable SRT steering wheel has a flattened bottom section with the SRT logo and the paddle shifters are matched to contoured palm rests at 10pm and 2am; all the infotainment controls are centred on the wheel's horizontal spokes.
Sports-style aluminium pedals are standard and there's genuine carbon-fibre trim on the instrument panel, door liners and shifter bezel. The full-colour driver info panel includes timers for 0-100km/h, 200m and 400m sprints, 100-0km/h braking distance and lateral and longitudinal G-force.
All of that is repeated on a 210mm central colour touchscreen (Chrysler says it's the biggest in its class) which can also display include steering angle, vehicle yaw angle, and power and torque outputs.
Keyless entry and start are standard, as are electronic stability control and seven air bags; a full leather trim package is available, as is a SafetyTec package that includes adaptive, high-intensity discharge projector high and low-beams with automatic headlight levelling, forward collision warning with adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring with rear cross path detection, front and rear parking sensors and LED rear foglights.
To add boom to the bling there's a 900-watt, 19-speaker Harmann Kardon sound system to order, to which can be added satellite radio, GPS navigation and permanent internet connectivity that makes the car a wi-fi hotspot.
The 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 will reach North American showrooms in the third quarter of 2011; Chrysler SA is expecting right-hand drive versions in mid-2012.