Coveted Street and Racing Technology (SRT) badge
communicates benchmark performance at the lowest price
DETROIT, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- What's the recipe for creating
the kind of vehicle that earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records?
According to Dan Knott, Director of Street and Racing Technology (SRT) at
the Chrysler Group, it takes the right vision, the right structure --
including a team of die-hard enthusiasts leading the engineering efforts.
Speaking at a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) keynote panel here
tomorrow, Knott will outline the foundations of SRT that have led the
organization to build on the success of the Dodge Viper SRT-10 with standout
vehicles that include:
- The Dodge SRT-4, which debuted in 2003 as the quickest sub-$20,000
entry among the sport compact "tuner crowd," only to be "upgraded" for 2004 to
230 horsepower with the addition of a limited-slip differential as standard
equipment;
- The 500-horsepower Dodge Ram SRT-10 -- the Viper of pickup trucks --
developed with SRT engineering to be the toughest, boldest truck on the
planet, resulting in a Guinness Book of World Records entry as "The World's
Fastest Pickup Truck";
- And the 330-horsepower Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6, unveiled this month in
Geneva as a new level of Crossfire with an infusion of race-inspired, street-
legal American performance.
Officially announced at the 2002 North American International Auto Show
(NAIAS) in Detroit, SRT was created to leverage all of the performance
resources within the Chrysler Group -- motorsports engineering, the Viper
development team and Mopar Performance Parts engineering -- to create a line
of industry-leading performance vehicles and parts. With this effort, the
Chrysler Group became the first manufacturer to combine high-performance
vehicle, performance parts and motorsports engineering under one roof.
In addition to boosting performance, SRT was created to boost the image of
Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep(R) vehicles -- and of Mopar parts and accessories.
Each and every SRT initiative flows from a specific vision: benchmark
performance at the lowest price, delivered with absolute integrity and
credibility.
"SRT never compromises on four key aspects," Knott said. "First, SRT
delivers outrageous, head-turning vehicles to the enthusiast. Next,
everything we design and develop is done to the highest standards of
excellence. Third, each vehicle program contributes to the bottom line. And
finally, SRT strives for continuous improvement throughout all our programs."
Knott said the heart of SRT is its people.
"We've sprinkled our organization with enthusiasts and experts. They work
hard, but they play hard, too. While we're part of a worldwide corporation,
we're not too buttoned-down. So, we let the team run, but with reasonable
levels of discipline."
The SRT structure is also key to its success, Knott said.
"To be successful, a high-performance team must have a significant amount
of autonomy -- team members must be able to make their own decisions and be
held accountable for the results. The team needs to avoid bureaucracy, and
move at light speed. Another thing: consensus management doesn't work in
creating high-performance products -- leadership and character is what
delivers successful products that perform at the limits."
Knott added that every SRT vehicle will feature performance-oriented
exterior characteristics that resonate with the brand image, a race-inspired
interior with aggressive seating, performance handling across a dynamic range
of driving conditions, world-class braking and benchmark-setting powertrain
performance.
"At SRT, we will never, ever rest on our laurels," Knott said. "We will
'walk the talk.' And we will continue to raise the bar."
SOURCE Chrysler Group
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CONTACT:
Daniel Bodene, +1-248-512-2920, or Todd
Goyer, +1-248-512-0041, both of Chrysler Group
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