The Chrysler group has released a new video showing off its hardcore SRT8 range, the Charger, Challenger, 300 and even the Grand Cherokee star in this smokey clip.

There’s plenty of drifting and burnouts to break in the new stand alone SRT brand. It also gives enthusiasts the chance to hear the new 470-horsepower, 6.4-litre HEMI motor in action.

Check out the video below. (more…)

The new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 has made its big debut in the States at the New York Auto Show and it arrives with the title of the ‘fastest Jeep ever built’.

How fast can a Jeep possibly be? Well it will sprint from 0-100kph in just 4.8 seconds and push on to a restricted 250kph top speed. If you want to be a quarter mile hero it will cover the distance in the mid-13-second range.

Laying at the heart of the beast is a 6.4-litre Hemi V8 pumping out 347kW of power and will apparently get 13-percent better fuel economy than the outgoing model. To achieve this feat Jeep has employed a new active exhaust system that lets the cylinder-deactivating Fuel Saver Technology operate over a wider RPM band.

According to Jeep the Grand Cherokee SRT8 can handle too, thanks in part to a new Selec-Track system with five driving modes. In it’s sportiest settings this go-hard Jeep can hold on for a .90-g skid pad performance. (more…)

So you’ve invested in an off-road machine that can take you to the most remote areas of the land, but where are you going to sleep? Over in the States, Jeep have decided to offer a solution to those that want to get well away from it all but still have a touch more luxury than a regular tent can offer. Called the Trail Edition Camper it’s available as an official Mopar accessory and looks tailor-made hooked up behind a new Wrangler.

This fancy new trailer uses good old pop-up technology to remain a manageable size for towing. Each trailer will have sleeping arrangements for four with one dedicated queen-size bed (the other sleeping quarters are converted from the table and sofa), built-in aluminum cabinets, a power supply and a canvas enclosure.

Two different models will be made available, the standard Trail Edition Camper and if that’s not enough the Extreme Trail Edition Camper. While the basic model gets 32-inch tyres and 12 inches of ground clearance, the Extreme Edition goes bigger with 35-inch tyres and a handy 15 inches of clearance. Other extreme upgrades include a stronger frame and full underbody skid plates.

Check out the gallery below for more images of the ‘Campers’.

According to reports a brand spanking new Hemi V-8 engine is in the works at Chrysler, and it’s expected to be packing 6.4-litres of displacement and somewhere in the region of 500 horsepower. The 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 will be the first car to benefit from this new HEMI, with details on the car just released.

The Challenger SRT8 will pack around 480 horspower and although that’s down on the projected power figures for the new motor it’s still a 55-horsepower increase over the current 425-horsepower 6.1-liter HEMI V-8 in Chrysler’s SRT8 vehicles. It is, however, still well short of the 550-horsepower supercharged V-8 in the 2011 Mustang GT500.

The engine will find other uses including being dropped into Jeep’s 2011 Grand Cherokee SRT8 which is based on the all-new 2011 Grand Cherokee. It had been expected to top 500 horsepower in this form but no official figures have been released by Chrysler yet and it does seem unlikely that the Jeep would get a more powerful version than the muscular Challenger.

Whatever the final output for both vehicles it’s great to see a new HEMI engine and the current 6.1-litre engine is known as one of the best-sounding, most fun-to-drive V-8s to come out of the States for some time.

Interest and exhibitors in the upcoming SEMA Show in the States may be down this year because of the state of the economy. However, Chrysler is unfazed and is using SEMA to show off four new concepts based on models popular with the American aftermarket. The company’s Mopar devision has thrown custom bits on a pair of Jeep Wranglers, a street-legal 556-horsepower Dodge Challenger, and a dolled up Dodge Ram 1500.

The most striking vehicle of the lot is the Jeep Wrangler “Lower Forty” – an imposing vehicle that uses a 5.7-litre Hemi V8 engine to turn its massive 40-inch tyres. Strangely, the massive running gear upgrade has been put on a standard ride-height two-door Jeep Rubicon — no suspension or body lift has been fitted. What has been bolted on is new fender flares that ride four inches higher than stock, a new integrated roll cage, a relocated spare tyre, a new drop-down tailgate with an old-school stamped Jeep logo. The windscreen hasn’t escaped severe treatment either, being chopped three-inches and raked back ten degrees further.

The second of the two Jeep Wrangler concepts is the Overland, a useful off-road camper. The go-bush-ready Overland includes a roof-mounted two-man tent with awning, a weatherised interior, and a three-inch suspension lift kit that helps clearance for the 35-inch tyres. Further enhancements include a Warn winch, desert-running-ready lighting, and a snorkel kit to ensure you can cross rivers.

The Dodge Challenger 1320 concept started off as a Mopar Drag Pak car, but it’s been civilized toned down for street life. It features a Hemi crate motor displacing 426ci, an engine that is made even more attention-getting by a pair of exhaust cutouts that allows the mufflers to be bypassed. Other bits include a strengthened driveline with a Dana 60 rear-end, ARB locking diff, widened Mopar police wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompsons, and a coilover kit. The interior has had some tweaks in a drag racing theme, including a pair of Viper front chairs, Hurst shifter, and a sports steering wheel. Dead weight like the rear seat and center console, and been kicked out in the search for lower ETs.

Finally, Dodge’s Ram pickup has been given the luxury treatment to create whats called the Bianco. The package includes 22-inch wheels, Arctic Ice pearl paint, two-tone Katzkin leather seats, various trim bits done up in piano black and Arctic Ice, and a thumping Kicker audio system.

Chrysler’s 5.7-litre HEMI V8 engine is a bit of a beast, but it seems that it just isn’t big enough. According to reports Dodge’s next heavy duty Ram will be offered with a massive 6.4-litre version of the OHV V8.

Based on the current 6.1-litre version of the HEMI, an engine that appears in a few SRT-branded cars, the new engine would feature both a larger bore and a longer stroke, with resulting power figures estimated at between 450 and 500hp.

An engine with that much horse would need a hardcore transmission bolted up to its crankshaft, something Dodge already offers with its diesel engines. Chrysler may use the latest six-speed gearbox from German specialist ZF.

Of course, all of this assumes that Chrysler will retain the RAM and this particular engine development when it emerges from bankruptcy. Assuming it does, in addition to its spot in the Ram HD lineup, the 6.4-litre HEMI V8 is also likely to make an appearance under the hood of Jeep’s next Grand Cherokee SRT8. No word yet on how much the new motor will add to the price of the Ram and also how bad the fuel economy is for such a big unit.

With Chrysler officially bankrupt things are looking more dire than ever for the iconic Dodge Viper. Chrysler has been looking to sell the Viper line for a while and several potential buyers were reportedly being considered, but months down the line no deal has been announced. Now, Chrysler has announced it will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy before restructuring in a new partnership with Fiat. But what’s to happen to the Viper?

According to recent reports from Detroit, Viper could face the axe, for real. Chrysler says it is still considering offers on the Viper line, but an early analysis of the company’s restructuring strategy suggests that the Viper is a financial liability for the company and will be dropped during the bankruptcy process. The Conner Avenue Assembly plant where 115 workers build the Viper is one of several earmarked for potential closure, along with many other Chrysler facilities. Fiat may not be too keen on keeping the Viper alive considering it’s a bad asset and Ferrari is a Fiat subsidiary.

It’s not only the Viper’s head on the chopping block with several trucks — including the Dodge Ram, Dakota and Jeep Wrangler facing the axe as Chrysler aims to streamline.

Want a new Jeep but want something a little different from the rest?

It wasn’t too long ago, back in the late’80s and early ’90s, that a certain basketball player by the name of Michael Jordan was propelling himself to exclusive superstar status. Meanwhile clothing manufacturer Nike had a revelation — to partner with the superstar and release exclusive limited edition shoes and clothing with his approval.

Nike created a storm its competitors couldn’t weather; like they said, “Everybody wants to be like Mike.” Everybody knows that in the years that followed Michael Jordan moved past superstar status to become a legend.

Around this time the designers at Jeep also had a revelation. To produce a slightly up-market compact recreational vehicle that could be used not only to drop off the kids at school, but also to play off road at the weekend. But what really put the Grand in Grand Cherokee was the addition of a 5.2-litre Magnum V8. Suddenly Chrysler had created its own storm and everybody wanted a Jeep Grand Cherokee V8.

Not surprisingly, as more vehicles hit the road the temptation to customise became less of a temptation and more of a demand. Owners wanted their vehicles to stand out and to be exclusive. Since they spent a majority of their time on road rather than off road, a number of customising and tuning companies decided more car-like features were what was needed. Unknowingly Chrysler had propelled the SUV market into mainstream suburbia.

With its latest offering the new Jeep Grand Cherokee has all the equipment you would expect in a luxury SUV. On the menu are the latest version ABS brakes, traction control, rain sensor wipers, tyre pressure monitoring, a Boston Acoustics sound system and more airbags than an old ladies’ tea party just to name a few.

However, just in case you thought it might have all gone soft, the technicians at Chrysler have brought back a blast from past in the form of the new generation Hemi 5.7-litre V8. First seen in the latest generation Dodge Ram, the new Hemi pumps out 240kW with 500Nm of torque. The steering rack has now been changed to the more responsive rack and pinion set-up, while the suspension gets an independent multi-link front and live rear axle with links.

On the outside the traditional front grille style has been retained as expected. New-style eyes sit either side, while the overall shape becomes more angular. Together with flatter panels and smaller gangster-style side windows similar to those on the 300C sedan, the overall effect is more muscle, more aggressive, but ‘it’s still all Jeep. It’s that small phrase that sums up the new Grand Cherokee. No matter how many changes it’s gone through you still couldn’t mistake it for anything else.

They say old habits are hard to give up — from these pictures you can tell that the customising of Jeeps is still popular and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Local Auckland Jeep dealer Continental Cars had been planning this one for a while as client requests for custom options became more mainstream. Subtle changes include slightly lowered suspension, colour-matched front grille and a sports exhaust system. As for the 22-inch wheels with the Pirelli Scorpion Zero tyres, well the guys just couldn’t help themselves, and really, who can blame them.