First article on engine and vehicle it's going in:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=7410

Other cars are coming and some numbers stated in this article are conservative by a good margin for what I've seen.

It'll be premiered to the press on Friday at Pebble Beach.

Congrats on the new "child". Glad the wraps are off of it. Now you can spill the detials.

SWEET!

While I like the looks of the 300, I think the TANK needs some horspower in it just to get the thing to punch a hole in the air!



But I would like to see the fuel milage numbers on the beast....as a "daily driver" machine....12-14 MPG is REALLY gonna suck....litterally!

I'm liking the this particular 300C. It looks better, and it scoots as fast as our stock f-bodies.

Congrats Mike. It must feel good to finally have the public sees and enjoys your team's hard work.


So...what's next...?

i want to see the magnum version. wheres the drool smiley

Randy, I'm not sure what the EPA fuel mileage numbers will be, but I can tell you the ones I've driven say about 18 MPG average for city (aggressive) driving on the LED on the readout. We don't use cylinder deactivation (MDS) like the 5.7L, but we can't since our lobe lift on the cam is higher than a MDS lifter can take. Our valve lift is 14.5mm (.571"). Wolfgang Bernhard (from Mercedes) used to be a VP at Chrysler when the idea of the 6.1L came into being. When he was asked about putting MDS on this engine he said, "None of that sissy stuff here. This engine is all about power, and nothing else." That guy had the right attitude.

The most challenging parts of this engine were the valvetrain (at one time we had 3 engineers working full time just on the cam profile and spring durability) and the piston/ring/rod/bearing upgrades. The piston/ring/rod/bearings are mine. Basically, any moving part on this engine was a challenge to make pass the DCX truck durability schedules. One of the durability schedules runs from peak torque RPM to 50 rpm below fuel shutoff (6350 rpm) for 775 hours. That's a killer for any moving parts.

It's the highest specific output engine DCX has ever made and we're not launched yet, so there is still work to do.

Anyway, just had to boast a little. We're patiently waiting for GM to put the LS2 in the GTO and the CTS-V so we'll have some competition. Those 2 cars aren't exactly in this car's target market, but right now, even the 300C has no competition from either GM or Ford for anywhere close to the price. We just stepped it up to make it harder for everyone else to match us. I have to tell you that right now I think SRT is doing some really good stuff. The Viper is the only car SRT makes that isn't kicking the competition's butt, but we'll make that right soon enough.

Did I mention Dan's numbers were conservative based on the numbers I've seen? The cars I've seen data on are faster than even LS1 F bodies were stock. We'll see what the magazines pull out of these cars when they get their hands on them. Considering the 300 weighs 4160 lbs., that's a lot of oomph to accelerate faster than a LS1 F body.

Mike, have you seen the quote in the current issue of Autoweek?

"I've got engineers who road-race and slalom and set land-speed records. They know how to make an engine work."

Nice.

Read the AutoWeek article today. Yeh, our engineer who does the ECU calibration and overall development testing has a Bonneville Salt Flats car with a motorcycle engine that's a streamliner. I think he's gone over 200 MPH, but I can't remember for sure. Most of the engineers at SRT race in one way or another I think. It's a fun place.

Need more employees?

Hi Dan. Noticed you're a computer programmer based on your resume right? If I were in your shoes I'd get a good job in California and then post about how long your racing season is just to make those of us in the north jealous. Heck, I'd be there myself if Henry Ford didn't have his brilliant idea to start things up here.

Hahah - working on it as we speak But I'm actually half computer programmer, half MechE, and have done some research in vehicle simulations and suspension design.... I like to pretend to understand this automotive stuff Anyway, congrats!

Dan

all this talk about how fun it is working for srt makes me want to go back and finish my ME degree.

Trey, your job sounds like a lot of fun too, but getting a ME degree can open up a lot of opportunities for you.