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SRT back to Dodge, Dart SRT, new Challenger, Charger and Caravan's death outlined in 5-yr plan

The onslaught of news from Fiat Chrysler's layout of five-year plans continued with Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis this morning, including the unexpected announcement that SRT was coming back into the fold.
After just a few years existing as an independent entity within the Fiat Chrysler universe, an unceremonious press release hit in conjunction with today's lineup of announcements, saying "the SRT family of vehicles will be consolidated under the Dodge brand." Group CEO Sergio Marchionne thanked SRT headman Ralph Gilles for his dedication to the high-performance wing, calling out is efforts in expanding the vehicle lineup and including more customized models. He did not reference disappointing SRT Viper sales today, but we sense there's a bit of subtext.
With the SRT reunion at Dodge, it's appropriate that some of the most exciting product announcements for the next five years have to do with upcoming performance products. First out of the gate will be a refresh for that flagging Viper in 2015, which comes as little surprise.

2016 Dodge Charger and Challenger SRTs look juicy in Go Mango

The 2016 Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT models are ready to go with newly available Go Mango orange paint. The carrot-like shade is the latest in the brand's long line of vibrant, throwback colors like Plum Crazy purple and Sublime green. Dealers can start order the bright hue right now. Dodge originally introduced Go Mango on the 1970 Challenger and also offered the color on the 2006 Charger R/T Daytona and 2016 Dart. Now, it's available on the SRT 392 and Hellcat models. The orange shade highlights the vehicles' lines well and looks especially good with black stripes running from the front splitter to the rear bumper like in these photos. There's no way to blend into traffic in such a vibrant muscle car, so this hue is for extroverts only. Last year at the Woodward Dream Cruise, Dodge brought back Plum Crazy on most Challenger and Charger models. The deep purple is a nice enough color, but Go Mango seems like a better fit for the SRT's performance-oriented demeanor. Related Video: Go Mango: Dodge Launches Modernized Exterior Heritage Color for 2016 Challenger and Charger SRT Muscle Cars Dodge continues to answer enthusiast demand with the latest heritage-inspired exterior paint color Dealers can begin ordering Go Mango immediately on Charger and Challenger SRT models March 14, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - "Plum Crazy" purple, "B5 Blue" and "Sublime" green Dodge Charger and Challenger muscle cars have recently been streaming out of the FCA US Brampton Assembly Plant, bringing a sense of nostalgia and powerful bursts of high-impact paint color to highways and dragstrips across the country. Now, new for spring 2016 and shown for the first time this past weekend at the 11th annual Spring Festival in Irvine, Calif., Dodge is expanding its color palette with a new, modernized version of Go Mango exterior paint on 2016 Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT models. Dealers can begin ordering Go Mango immediately. Go Mango was first introduced by Dodge on the iconic 1970 Challenger. Following a limited production run in 2006 on specific Charger R/T Daytona models, and more recently featured on the 2016 Dodge Dart, the next generation of the legendary and limited-edition exterior hue combines orange and red tones into a high-impact color that showcases the legendary Dodge performance attitude.

Jay Leno drives the Demon-powered SpeedKore carbon fiber Dodge Charger

Jay Leno drives all sorts of wild vehicles on his TV and YouTube series "Jay Leno's Garage," from concept cars to classics. Although many of the vehicles are museum quality, they don't all come through in straight by-the-book factory form, as Leno often likes to highlight the creative and insane builds from premium speciality aftermarket shops. One of his favorites is SpeedKore, which recently dropped by with its carbon-fiber-bodied 1970 Dodge Charger Evolution. After cementing itself as one of the best builds of the year at SEMA 2018, the high-performance Charger paid Leno a visit to show off its immaculately assembled blend of classic and modern Dodge. It's not the first time SpeedKore has stopped by, as they've previously shot videos together of the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, the 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R, and the 1970 Dodge Charger Tantrum. The Charger featured here wears its Evolution name because it is an updated take on the Tantrum build (which had 1,650 horsepower, by the way), but the two are quite different. The Charger Evolution uses numerous parts from Dodge's recent superstars, the Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Challenger SRT Demon. In fact, it's one of the only ways in the world to drive a Demon engine with a manual transmission. Under the hood is the 6.2L Supercharged Hemi V8 from a Demon pre-production car, and SpeedKore has tuned it up to 966 horsepower. It pairs with a Tremec M6 6060 six-speed transmission from the Hellcat. At full bore, the whine of the supercharger paired with the grumble from the custom stainless steel SpeedKore exhaust headers makes for a thrilling, if not unharmonized, battle cry. Whereas some restomods have cut corners, shoddy build quality, or imperfect fittings, Leno notes that SpeedKore's work is top-notch, despite the entire exterior body and many pieces of the interior being fully replaced with glossy clear-coated exposed carbon fiber. According to SpeedKore Vice President Dave Salvaggio, the Charger weighs about 3,400 pounds. Check out the full video above or read full details from our time with the car at SEMA. And as a bonus, Autoblog photographer Drew Phillips recently got to spend a day shooting the Charger. His gallery of photos appears below. Speedkore 1970 Dodge Charger View 53 Photos