2010 Chrysler 300C SRT8 remains a guilty pleasure

If the economic downfall of 2008 had happened just a few years earlier, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 probably wouldn't exist. Think about it: when the nation was on the verge of $4.00/gallon gasoline and people were doing everything possible to get out of their fuel-sucking SUVs and into smaller, more efficient vehicles, a 425-horsepower flagship sedan with a free-breathing 6.1-liter Hemi V8 doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But then again, did it ever?


The 300C SRT8 is the product of a pre-castrated Chrysler. This was a time of Viper-powered Rams, Hemi-powered Jeeps and SRT-badged Neons. "You want it, you got it." Chrysler wanted the 300C SRT8 to start a new trend of muscle sedans – a land where quarter-mile times reigned supreme, and booming exhaust notes were all that mattered. This trend never really caught on (save the Cadillac CTS-V, which has been honed to be one hell of a machine), and at the end of the day, Chrysler was left with a big, heavy, powerful sedan that didn't offer much in the way of refinement and carried a near-$50,000 price tag.

But despite its flaws – and there are quite a few – we still think of the 300C SRT8 as a guilty pleasure. It has all the ingredients of an American muscle car wrapped in a four-door, luxury(ish) package. We'd probably never buy one or recommend buying a new one to a friend, but if we're totally honest, there's still something about the SRT8 that gets us all giddy when one comes through the Autoblog Garage. Make the jump to find out why.

More pics and details on the Brabus T65 RS Vanish

Before Brabus turned its T65 RS Vanish over to its rightful owner, it took the car to Glamor Shots for a round under the lights and here are the results.


The former Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series is now a twin-turbo, 800-horsepower brute with 811 pound-feet of electronically limited peak torque – the engine's uncorked potential is 1,047 pound-feet. About the only other limit the Vanish has is top speed: it's capable of 206 miles per hour, but is limited to "only" 200.

Your own SL65 AMG Black Series probably won't go that fast right now, but Brabus has good news: everything on the Vanish can be ordered up for your car. Except that "One-off" plaque, of course. Have a look at the Brabus press release after the jump, and at the Vanish from all angles in the gallery of high-res photos below.

Audi R8 GT

Audi dropped a very pleasant surprise on us this afternoon with the long-awaited announcement of the R8 GT.

The Audi R8 V10 was already one of our favorite sports cars in the world (sans the R-Tronic transmission) so how could you make it better? In the immortal words of Colin Chapman, "add lightness." But in a modern sports car required to meet rigorous safety standards, you can only go so far short of a complete redesign. Hence, the R8 GT's lightened chassis benefits from a power boost to boot.

The R8 GT swaps in a thinner glass windshield and polycarbonate rear windows and replaces many aluminum body panels with carbon fiber. By going over every part of the R8, Audi's engineers have carved a total of 220 pounds off the standard R8's curb weight.


The 5.2-liter V10 has been bumped from 525 horsepower to 560, topping its cousin, the Lamborghini Gallardo. The GT is only available with the aforementioned R-Tronic hydraulically actuated semi-automatic, and when pushed to its limit, the R8 GT is claimed to accelerate to 62 miles per hour in just 3.6 seconds and on to 124 mph in 10.6 seconds. The terminal velocity has been increased to 198.8 mph.

Only 333 examples of the R8 GT will be built and the price in Germany is €193,000 ($256,000 USD). No mention is made of U.S. availability, but we'd be surprised if Audi doesn't apportion a few for Stateside consumption. Full details in the press release after the break.