Chrysler town and country

Zero to 60 in the low five-seconds, 0-100 mph in under 17 seconds, 0.89g on the skidpad, and four-wheel Brembo disc brakes to match. If the performance in question did not come from a full-size, five-passenger, rear-drive American road scarfer, you would think a Corvette or Mustang GT was lurking about. But, there isn t. These numbers are from the elegantly rambunctious Chrysler 300C SRT8.

Chrysler s 300C SRT8 makes me want to put on a tuxedo, speak pretentious English, and go thrash pretenders at the drag strip while cackling out a window filled with smoked rubber. One look at the performance figures elicits that response. Open the hood and examine the car s 6.1-litre HEMI V8, connected to a Mercedes-derived five-speed manumatic transmission, to really get giddy. The powertrain puts out 425 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft.

of torque, or about 25 percent more power than the baby 5.7-litre HEMI in the non-SRT 300C. Fuel economy, not surprisingly, is less than economy car frugal at 13/18-MPG city/highway. Most people won t realize the 300C SRT8 is much different from any other elegantly styled 300.

The sedan s Bentley-sized grille, large headlamps, chopped roofline, broad flanks, formal roofline, and high decklid look as good wrapped around 20-inch forged-aluminum wheels and Goodyear F1 low profile tires as they do on lesser touring models. SRT8s are enhanced with a subtle lip spoiler (now formed into the decklid instead of glued on), aggressive ground affects, fog lamps, body color mirrors, unique taillamp lenses and SRT8 badges.