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When it comes to affordable performance-oriented sedans that deliver more horsepower per dollar, the Dodge Charger SRT is on the top of many consumers' lists. Take the meanest looking stock car on the road and equip it with track-tested performance backed by its racing division, you get one of the most head-turning vehicles on the road today.

The Charger has carved a very comfortable niche for itself, proving there are buyers for full-size cars that are big on performance. While we’ve seen automakers like Pontiac struggle with its almost-unknown GXP line, the Charger and Challenger have managed to do quite well in the market.

This large sedan matches its heavy performance specs with brash exterior styling that is unapologetically Dodge. The front features sleek dark headlights complemented with LED daytime running lights that stretch to its outer edges of the vehicle. The deep body kit stretches downward just a few inches off the ground providing a sleek, low profile. The hood features a functional air intake that's angled in such a way that it doesn’t get in the way of the driver. On top of that, the silver eye-popping SRT-exclusive wheels look stunning and show off the bright red 13.8-inch Brembo calipers squeezing on 15.4-inch discs. At the rear, although the taillights look great, I do wish they did something flashier with all those lighting elements to distinguish it as an SRT.

Sporting a more-than-plenty 485 horsepower makes this one of the noisiest hell-raising stock sedans you can buy. With 475 lb.-ft. of torque – all pushed to the rear wheels, doing burnouts at stop lights become a frequent occurrence. Surprisingly, the standard eight-speed automatic is the only transmission choice, but features wicked paddle shifters that encourage you to push each gear to its absolute limit. This gearbox is a huge upgrade over the outdated five-speed on the 2014 model.

Everything about the driving experience is totally customizable using the UConnect screen. Touching the SRT button brings up driving modes that allow you to fine-tune your transmission, steering, and other components for either the road or the racetrack. Street mode delivers a well-behaved benign drive while Track mode pushes the vehicle to its performance limits while tightening the driving feel.

The emanated sound is unmistakably SRT from the moment you start the ignition. Shared with the Hellcat, the straight-through exhaust system with electronically variable valves deliver the SRT’s unique notes while the exclusive mid-muffler echoes the sound into the cabin.

With a 0-100 km/h in just over four seconds, getting sucked into the leather perforated seats was a comfortable undertaking, while the cooled seats will allow one to sweat it out when taken to the track.

The chunky non-circular steering wheel features a whole slew of buttons in front and behind to control various gadgets without taking your eyes off the road. In addition, the large 8.4-inch UConnect touchscreen makes it easy to control everything from the interior settings to the driver experience. Old school button pushers will be happy to find traditional knobs and dials in the centre stack to control the climate and entertainment.

Unlike most performance cars, this SRT makes a great daily driver. The ample room for five adults and the large boot encourage your family and friends to join in on the madness while the acceptably efficient ECO mode allows you to contemplate a long-term relationship with the car once the fun settles down. Engaging ECO mode kicks in the Multi-displacement System (MDS) which shuts down four of the eight cylinders at coasting speeds and restricts the engine’s performance. During my highway test, I was able to comfortably cruise 100 km/h at around 1,750 rpm under ECO mode while averaging 6.7 L/100km. That number shoots up quite a bit in the city – especially in stop-and-go traffic.

South of the border you will find the Charger SRT’s closest competitor – the Chevrolet SS. Based on the VF Commodore from GM’s Holden division, this four-door Camaro has a 6.2L V8 coupled to a six-speed that puts out 415 horses and another 415 lb.-ft. of torque. Don’t expect it in Canada any time soon, as it is being scrapped in 2017. Alternatively, the Ford Taurus SHO is the only full-size sports sedan, but its 3.5-litre SHO EcoBoost puts out a measly 365 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque.

The Charger SRT is a solid four-door performer offering amazing power and performance with a price tag that offers more car per dollar. It backs up its daring exterior design with its highly-acclaimed SRT performance – all while providing forgiving fuel economy numbers that will make the love last in the long run.

The next chapter in the history of the ultimate street-legal, track-focused, hand-built American supercar begins with the return of the new 2016 Dodge Viper ACR.
 
Certified for public roads and engineered to wring every last hundredth of a second out of road course lap times, the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR combines the latest in aerodynamic, braking and tire technology – a recipe designed to carry on the ACR’s lap-time busting reputation that has made it a legend on race tracks around the world.
 
“The Viper has always been more of a street-legal race car than a track-capable streetcar, and the new 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever,” said Tim Kuniskis, President and Chief Executive Officer - Dodge Brand and SRT Brand, FCA - North America. “Our goal is to arm our enthusiasts with the ultimate Viper track car to dominate road courses around the world.”
 
The SRT® engineering team that developed the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is well-stocked with members who race their own cars, as well as learning from the factory-based racing Viper GTS-R that competed in the American Le Mans Series and IMSA United SportsCar Championship from 2012-2014, capturing the GTLM class driver and team championships in 2014. For the new Viper ACR, the team focused its efforts on three areas: aerodynamics, chassis and tires to maximize grip, producing never-seen-before handling capabilities and unprecedented lap times.

 
Ultimate aerodynamic performance
The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR with the available Extreme Aero package produces the highest aerodynamic downforce of any production car. During on-track testing, development engineers have experienced nearly 1-ton of downforce at top speed of 284 km/h (177 mph).
 
The Extreme Aero Package includes a huge (1.8 metre wide) adjustable dual-element rear wing, rear carbon fibre diffuser, unique SRT hood with removable louvers, detachable extension for the front splitter and four dive planes. The Extreme Aero rear wing, specifically designed for air flow around the Viper’s body, stands taller, sits further rearward and features unique end-plates and gurney lip to produce maximum downforce while minimizing straight line drag.  The Extreme Aero package delivers more than three times the downforce of the Viper TA (Time Attack) 2.0 package.
 
The rear carbon fibre diffuser extends forward of the rear axle. It includes six removable strake extensions, designed to rub against the track surface for increased straight-line stability and optimized downforce.  Removable hood louvers over the front tires reduce air pressure in front wheel wells to provide additional downforce. The detachable front splitter extension and dive planes work with the rear aero treatment to provide outstanding grip and balanced performance on the track.
 
Ultimate brake performance
Track duty can punish the brakes. The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR features new Brembo® Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes for optimum braking performance with unprecedented brake fade resistance, and greater handling capability through reduced un-sprung weight. The system uses 390-millimetre (15.4-inch) two-piece front rotors and 360-millimetre (14.2-inch) two-piece rear rotors.  Front brakes use six-piston Brembo® calipers while the rear brakes use four-piston calipers.
 
The new Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes have the largest brake pad area ever on Viper. The brakes work in conjunction with ABS and ESC specifically tuned for ACR to take into account the extra grip provided by the additional aero and specifically designed Kumho® tires. Detachable front brake ducts provide additional cooling to the brake calipers for optimum track performance.

 
Tire, Chassis Combo Keeps Viper ACR Glued to the Road
The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is fitted with Kumho® Ecsta V720 high-performance tires designed specifically for the car with unique tread pattern and compounds for front and rear.  In testing, the new tires produce laps times that are 1.5 seconds faster than off-road-only race tires.
 
Low-profile front tires measure 295/25/19 and are mounted on wider 11-inch wheels.  When combined with the 355/30/19 rear tires, these tires provide the largest combined tire patch available on any production car. On the sidewall of the new tires is a unique, raised ACR logo.
 
The Viper ACR’s ABS and five-mode Electronic Stability Control system (Full-on, Sport, Track, Rain, Full-off modes) are specifically tuned for the car to take into account the extra grip offered by the extreme aerodynamic and tire package.
 
Aluminum bodied, double-adjustable coil-over Bilstein® race shocks are designed specifically for the Viper ACR and work in conjunction with ride height adjustment for optimal control of weight transfer and handling performance. Each shock provides independent 10-way rebound and compression adjustability. The suspension package also provides more than 7.6 centimetres (3 inches) of ride height adjustment.
 
Front springs are rated at 600 lb/in and rear springs at 1,300 lb/in, more than double the suspension stiffness of the Viper TA model. With unique race alignment and 1.4 degrees more negative camber than the entry SRT model, the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is capable of sustaining more than 1.5 g on high-speed turns due to the combined chassis and aerodynamic improvements.
 
“This car is not a 1-3 lap track special. You can run the car at the track all day, and the performance doesn’t fall off,” added Kuniskis.
 
Awe-inspiring V-10 Powertrain
At the heart of the 2016 Viper ACR is the handcrafted, all-aluminum 8.4-litre V-10 overhead-valve engine, rated at 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque – the most torque of any naturally aspirated sports car engine in the world. Unique exhaust tips have been added to the side-mounted exhaust pipes to provide reduced exhaust pressure. All Vipers are engineered to withstand severe track duty in ambient temperatures of 37 Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) with a professional driver. Power reaches the pavement through the standard Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission.
 
ACR-exclusive Interior Appointments
The instrument panel cluster hood, lower instrument panel and door armrest panels of the race-inspired interior are wrapped in unique Alcantara® suede. A new, ACR-exclusive Alcantara wrapped high-grip steering wheel with color racing stripe and unique badging sets the ACR apart from other production models. New high-grip seats also carry the Alcantara inserts, while the unique dash plaque is finished in carbon fibre. Customers can choose between Silver or Header Red accent stitching throughout the interior.