Stellantis is attempting to reverse a slumping trajectory that saw its sales plummet, customers leave in droves, and increased dissatisfaction from rank and file workers. Bringing the Hemi V8 back into the Ram 1500 lineup was a step in the right direction, but the company is also addressing other issues.

One of these is the long dormant SRT performance brand. The SRT team was responsible for some of the company’s wildest performance models (including the Viper) and at its peak, played a core part in the company’s broader sales plans before it was put on ice. That’s now changing, and SRT is poised to make a big comeback with Stellantis suprising the world with its Wednesday announcement.

SRT’s Return Will Spark Performance Resurgence

It wasn’t too long ago that the SRT moniker was a persistent presence in showrooms with the letters being used for spicy versions of the Dodge Charger and Challenger, Chrysler 300, as well as other models over the past few decades. Some emerged as smash hits with the Neon SRT-4 helping to add some juice to the performance compact market while others like the Dodge Caliber SRT-4 are best treated as afterthoughts.

For now, the SRT name has been represented by only one model the Dodge Durago SRT Hellcat which has been in limited producton since 2020. But after the aging Durango bites the dust, the brand will bring several all new models to showrooms and Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis will oversee it all. “We’re getting the band back together,” Kuniskis said in a statement. “SRT is another box we needed to check as we head into a product launch cadence, enabling more performance than we’ve ever seen before. We’re working with our product development and technology organization to select the best engineers in powertrain and vehicle dynamics to build a team worthy of the SRT name.”

The company even released a brief teaser video annoucing SRT’s comeback which can be seen below.

What can consumers expect?

“Cars that carry the SRT badge will “push the boundaries of power, aerodynamics, handling, and technology, on both the street and the track,” according to Stellantis. However, the company stopped short of detailing what exactly the new sub-brand is working on other than confirming it will focus on models from Dodge, Ram, Jeep, and Chrysler. But with that last brand currently in a figurative coma and also limited to the Pacifica minivan too, chances are good the SRT team will focus on working with what it has.

This includes possibly starting their initial work with Dodge and Ram products. The return of the Hemi V8 to the Ram 1500 pickup does open up a potential avenue of tinkering for the sub-brand while the Dodge Charger will potentially benefit from some SRT magic with demand from consumers being a key motivator. Jeep could get their models later on once the SRT sub-brand has had enough time to cement itself in the market with the first wave of models.

Speaking of the launch models, it’s not known when those will appear either, but with Tim Kuniskis at the helm and his track record of moving quickly with projects, the first SRT models could appear sooner than many folks expect and possibly make their debut sometime later this year or early next year.