What Is SRT?

Special models with the Street and Racing Technology sub-brand pack loads of power and performance.

Andy Stonehouse | 

Aug 15, 2025 | 2 min read

Dodge

QucikTakes:

• SRT traces its origins to the Dodge Viper
• High horsepower is the hallmark of SRT vehicles
• A variety of models got the SRT treatment

From the early days of the mega-powerful Dodge Viper to outrageously potent versions of the Hemi engine in the Dodge Challenger and Charger, the SRT label has signaled power, performance, and muscular styling. The limited-edition 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 — packing 1,025 horsepower — is its most powerful model yet.

Dodge

SRT Traces Its Origins to the Dodge Viper

Decades before the Stellantis automotive group was formed, Chrysler's then-president, Bob Lutz, hoped to create excitement around the brand with a Shelby Cobra-inspired sports car. That project became the now-legendary Dodge Viper.

The Street and Racing Technology division began to take shape when Viper engineers were teamed with those developing the Plymouth Prowler. The group was first known as Special Vehicle Engineering and later as Performance Vehicle Operations. Since 2004, the sub-brand has officially been called SRT, and the label has been applied to a diverse group of vehicles.

Dodge

High Horsepower Is a Hallmark of SRT Vehicles

The hallmark of the SRT experience is a high-horsepower engine, such as the famous Hemi. To cope with all that muscle, SRT vehicles have high-performance transmissions, specialized braking systems, and enhanced suspensions and wheels.

SRT-badged vehicles also get stylistic upgrades — including wide bodies, spoilers, and hood scoops — that give them a distinctive look and enhance their performance.

Dodge

A Variety of Models Got the SRT Treatment

While the SRT label has most recently been applied to Dodge vehicles — especially the ever-more-powerful Challenger and Charger models — it has also graced souped-up versions of other cars, trucks, and SUVs.

The SRT magic has touched Jeeps, too, including the more track-oriented Grand Cherokee SRT, which in turn inspired other Hemi-powered offspring, such as the 707-hp Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Hemis also livened up models such as the Chrysler 300 and 300 SRT sedan and even the Dodge Magnum SRT8 station wagon.

There have been a few non-Hemi members of the family, including the four-cylinder Dodge Neon SRT4 — a lower-cost street racer — and the four-cylinder Dodge Caliber SRT4, a 285-hp compact hatchback.

Andy Stonehouse

For more than 20 years, Andy has been writing about automobiles from a home base in Colorado, with great driving roads, mountain trails, and ever-changing seasonal conditions for real-world tests. Prior to his work with Capital One, he spent a half decade as cars columnist for Ski Magazine, and he continues to write automotive coverage for ski-resort media in Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Vail — home of downhill stars Lindsay Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. When he's not praying for a powder day, he enjoys any high-speed moments he can get on the Centennial State's increasingly crowded byways.