[Mike V.]

If a Mopar product is going to be competitive again in the performance 4 cyl. arena they are going to need 300 hp to keep up, especially with cars like the turbo 305 hp Subaru WRX and a 201 hp NA Honda. I'd like to see a SRT4 Dart and I believe "if they will build it, they will come".

It's not 2003 anymore.

Mike

 

[Mike V.]

The WRX STi makes 305 hp. Besides, let's not just keep up, lets go beyond the competition. I agree with Suzq though, pricing is probably a real issue with a Dart at that power level. I'm thinking that if Mopar could make a real performance machine without all the fancy gizmos or luxury items (SRT Core or Roadrunner) and at reasonable price, it might have some takers.

And the STi and Evo sales have dropped tremendously compared to nearly 10 years ago.

The Dart should compete with the Focus ST and Mazdaspeed 3 however, IMHO, and thus will compete with the WRX.

The Evo and STi will probably be gone in a few years.

Mike

 

[Mike V.]

The Neon SRT and STI's of the mid 2000's are not even comparable performance wise in my book.

Then you don't know the capabilities of an SRT4.

Mike

 

[Mike V.]

I do, I've driven both of them and auto crossed both of my 06 STI's. At the time the cars were not even in the same race class. I'm not saying the Neon SRT's were dogs by any means, I loved, LOVED driving the SRT Neon and would expect the Dart to be much more capeable. I could only hope and dream that an SRT Dart would have a solid AWD system with 300hp as I could easily be a customer. I would expect a ~250hp FWD Dart.

Ralph knows what an STI is capeable of as he lost to a father and son team at the 2011 Targa Newfoundland Rally while driving a 2010 Dodge Viper ACR. Which as many of us know is an insanely fast car and is still one of the fastest lap times around the Nurburgring for a production car.

You are comparing two cars that were not classed the same... And pax was always my friend when it came to the STi's

Additionally, since your autox example is thrown out the window, on the street the SRT4 had little trouble with STi's.

Then you compare a highly modified STi to a stock Viper. I can modify a SRT4 to beat up on Viper's too. Same with a 1st gen. What's your point?

You've "driven" an SRT-4 NEON... but not actually campaigned an SRT-4 NEON in a Race Series.... that's a huge difference.


I think a lot of people are living in the Past.... and unfortunately, those 30 People living in the Past aren't justification for Building/ Testing/ Certifying an AWD Turbo SRT that's going to cost $40K... that's the plain and simple truth.

Thanks, I agree with you 100%... and you need to update your signature.

Mike

 

[Mike V.]

The SRT4 may have little trouble with WRXs, but not an STi. An STi is almost a full second faster to 60, and about 8/10ths faster in the quarter. The updated SRT-4 closed the gap, but the STi is still a fair bit faster.

Never had trouble beating them on the street. Standard WRX's were easy pickens.

STi's are insane, if the driver knows what they are doing. Most do not.

Mike

I'm sure the WRX STi is going to keep coming up, but really I don't think it should...

I don't think it should either. That niche market is shrinking fast.

Mike