SRT chief Ralph Gilles is definitely a car guy, and there’s no doubt that he’s “one of us” when it comes to his love of performance brands and storied names. But as the face of the SRT brand, Gilles in charge of a billion-dollar operation that is currently dealing with lower-than-expected Viper sales and rumors of a car that may not even exist.
Automobile Magazine caught up with Gilles at the Chicago Auto Show, and the SRT boss was quick to dismiss rumors of an impending SRT Barracuda. He also didn’t seem too keen on the idea of a smaller, more-affordable SRT entrant, despite acknowledging the success of the SRT-4.
Gilles noted that SRT has never confirmed the existence of a Barracuda, and that the rumor has grown legs of its own, so to say. Gilles also reminded reporters that the Plymouth brand, which hosted the Barracuda, is no longer around, and such a car would require investment in an all-new, rear-drive platform that is much smaller than the existing Charger and Challenger.
That’s probably not going to happen, unless Chrysler dips into Fiat’s global parts bin. Gilles also said that development of a smaller, Dart-based SRT model would need to meet SRT’s higher performance and quality standards. The biggest problem is a powerful-enough drivetrain in a compact front-driver.
If Ford can do it with the Focus ST, what’s stopping Gilles and SRT? Performance doesn’t only come in high-displacement flavors you know.
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