“We’re getting the band back together.”
Over the past four years, we’ve seen Stellantis shift its focus toward an electrified future while quietly putting parts of FCA’s past out to pasture. That included the company’s SRT (Street and Racing Technology) division, which was instrumental in creating well-known performance hits like the Hellcat and Demon models, as well as the iconic Viper. Now, though, Stellantis is officially relaunching SRT as a distinct performance division — unifying its latest performance and motorsports ambitions across the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands. And leading the charge is industry firebrand Tim Kuniskis.
The reestablished SRT division will oversee the Direct Connection performance parts program — formerly marketed under Dodge — as well as participation in NHRA and Ram’s return to the NASCAR Truck Series next year.
“We’re getting the band back together,” said Kuniskis in the official announcement Wednesday. “It’s time now for us to harness our past, to accelerate harder and faster toward our future. So, today we start recruiting, we start rebuilding, and we refire the machine. We stop being quiet and we get loud again.”
In addition to his role at the top of the SRT division, Kuniskis will remain brand CEO of Ram Trucks.
Today’s announcement did not mention specific cars making their way back into the fold, but the teaser video below does feature the supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8, which was a staple of the automaker’s performance portfolio over the past decade. CEO Antonio Filosa, to whom Kuniskis will report, also said “We will leverage [Tim’s] energy, his strategic mindset and his competitive spirit to supercharge all our brand activities.”
We’ll have to see what that means in practical terms in the coming months, but “supercharge” seems like a nod to what we could see in the relatively near future — Hellcats could be coming back.
