What happens when a Dodge meets an Alfa Romeo? The Dart, that’s what happens. But as promising as Auburn Hills’ new economy sedan is, what we’re really looking forward to is what Ralph Gilles and company over at the SRT division can cook up. And the folks over at Motor Trend think they’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect.
For the Dart SRT4, Dodge could go one of two ways: turbocharging the existing Tigershark 2.0-liter four, or shoehorning in the new all-aluminum 1.8-liter turbo four from Alfa Romeo. Since the latter would likely push the Dart SRT4’s price up beyond $30,000 and competitive levels, the smarter money’s on the former. But in order to compete with the likes of the Ford Focus ST and Subaru WRX STI – and outshine the 285-horsepower Caliber SRT4 it succeeds – we could be looking at nearly 300 horses under the hood.
Couple that with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission (we’d still hope for a manual), upgraded rolling stock, brakes and suspension, and a more aggressive aero pack and we could be looking at one very mean pocket rocket indeed.
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