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American muscle duo for SA

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It's hot wheels time as DaimlerChrysler readies itself to blast into 2006 with a mighty muscle duo.

DCSA executives told Wheels24 in Detroit that South Africa is to get some sizzling vehicles, which will have keen pricing too.

According to Guy Franken, Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge's marketing head in South Africa, the first muscle car to hit South Africa is the sizzling Chrysler 300C SRT-8.

Franken said It will go on sale here in about April and the 300C SRT-8 will have about a R50 000 price premium above that of the current 300C range topper, the 5.7-litre HEMI model.

This means that you will get a car with Mercedes E55 AMG performance at about half a million rand!

For the 300C SRT-8, Chrysler boosted its iconic HEMI engine to 6.1 litres to develop 25% more power than the 5.7-litre version.

The result is a 317 kW, normally aspirated V8 HEMI with a torque figure of 569 Nm.

The 300C SRT-8 blitz from 0-100 km/h in less than five seconds, while the top speed of the muscle car is limited to 250 km/h.

Soon after the launch of the 300C, DCSA will also bring the most powerful Jeep here too. Franken told Wheels24 that South Africans can expect to buy the potent Grand Cherokee SRT-8 in about June-July. Under its bonnet is the same 6.1-litre HEMI as in the 300C SRT-8.

Jeep claims that the Grand Cherokee SRT-8 is quicker than a Porsche Cayenne as it will rocket from standstill to 100 km/h in less then five seconds. Like its 300C sibling the Grand Cherokee SRT-8 will have keen pricing too and will most likely have a price tag of about R550 000.


The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8.

However, to create the first SRT vehicle with full-time four-wheel drive, SRT engineers redeveloped the Grand Cherokee's all-wheel-drive system. it had to be lightweight, yet robust and reliable enough to handle massive amounts of power and torque from the SRT-8 powertrain.

Therefore engineers created a new transfer case, combining housing components from two existing units with the upgrades needed to make it SRT-capable.

SRT engineers also opted to use the front half of a Jeep transfer case chosen for its capability and lightweight.

It was mated to the rear half of a heavier-duty case, chosen for its ruggedness and ability to house the electronic full-time four-wheel-drive system components. The transfer case output shaft was upgraded to handle high torque generated by the SRT 6.1-liter HEMI.

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