The new Dodge Durango SRT made its first public appearance at the Chicago Auto Show, generating a lot of interest as you would expect from a seven-seater model packing close to 500hp.
Dodge has installed the 6.4-litre Hemi V8 under the hood, which is good for 475hp and 470lb-ft of torque, and paired it to an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
With V8 power channeled to all four wheels, the new Durango SRT is capable of a 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds, dealing with the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds.
Dodge has upgraded the gearbox with model-specific shift maps, dropping the time needed to change a cog up to 70 percent when the most aggressive driving mode is selected. It even smokes all four wheels, well, at least when it’s anchored.
The chassis also gets adaptive dampers from Bilstein along with a stiffer set of springs, while the rear sway bar is also stiffer by 18 percent. Braking is provided by a set of Brembo six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston ones at the rear.
It might not have Hellcat levels of power but that V8 grunt should prove enough for shaving a few seconds off your daily school run.
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