Ask anyone in the Jalopnik Slack channel, I’ve long been saying that Stellantis should give the keys to Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis and let him go buck wild. Well, it seems like some folks a the Transatlantic automaker — including newly appointed CEO Antonio Filosa — agree with my thinking, because Kuniskis was just made the head of American brands and North American marketing and retail strategy. His first order of business? Bringing back SRT.
That’s right, baby. Street and Racing Technology is making a comeback under the stewardship of Kuniskis after it was quietly and unofficially disbanded after FCA and PSA merged. In a statement, the company said that the move will mark “a bold step in unifying high-performance engineering across Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram under a single, dedicated identity.” Right now, the only SRT model on offer across Stellantis’ entire lineup is the Durango SRT Hellcat, and that simply isn’t enough. I’m assuming we’re able to see a lot more big ol’ V8 motors being crammed under the hoods of cars across the company’s fleet, and I’m sure a lot of that go-fast know-how will come in handy once SRT gets its hands on the electric Charger Daytona.
After all, Kuniskis is the guy who spearheaded putting Hemi V8s back in Ram pickup trucks. You might question this man’s messaging, but you can’t doubt that he loves a big, dumb V8, and that’s exactly what Stellantis should get behind in North America. It tried its hand at making sensible, four-cylinder commuter crossovers, and we can all see how that turned out.
What this means for Stellantis
“We’re getting the band back together. 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,” Kuniskis said in a statement. “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.”
Basically, he’s going to hand-pick the best powertrain and vehicle dynamics engineers he can find at Stellantis and put them under one roof. In theory, this sounds like a great idea.
In addition to this new position, Kuniskis will still be the CEO of Ram, and Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler will keep their current CEOs. The newly reestablished SRT performance division will oversee Direct Connection and North American motorsports programs under Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram. That includes the company’s activities in NHRA drag racing andRam’s plans to return to the NASCAR Truck Series next year.
