Fast cars—and trucks, SUVs, golf carts, whatever—get two thumbs-up around here, so when an outfit like Chrysler’s SRT performance tuning firm works its magic, it gets attention.
One favorite SRT creation is Dodge’s pickup screamer, the Viper-powered Ram SRT-10 standard cab, which recently snatched the title of world’s fastest truck away from Ford’s SVT Lightning.
So why should SRT create this Quad Cab monster?
"We wanted to give Viper owners a way to tow their vehicles to the track and then be able to take the truck out for a few laps as well," said SRT director Dan Knott. Yeah, right. Would it also have something to do with a burgeoning sport truck market?
Or how about
: Because you can never have enough vehicles with an 8.3-liter 500-hp V10 in the engine bay? Whatever the reasons, thanks much, Dan.
The SRT-10 Quad Cab was developed to fill the void created by the standard-cab Ram SRT’s main pure truck shortcoming—its lack of towing capacity. The Quad Cab is a mite kinder and gentler than its racier sibling.
Besides the obvious cab difference between the two SRTs, the biggest change for the Quad Cab mechanically is the mating of a four-speed automatic transmission to the Viper block.
Dodge engineers say getting the transmission (adapted from Ram diesel applications) to work right was the trickiest part of building the truck. It had to handle the beastly 525 lb-ft of maximum torque and be able to tow 7500 pounds. In went a beefed-up torque converter and a two-piece driveshaft. Engineers included a custom tranny calibration, and gave its live rear axle a 4.56 ratio. The goal: improve launch feel, low-end acceleration and tow capacity. From behind the wheel, you’ll think it is transmission accomplished.
As Knott said, this SRT—like all SRTs—is also prepared for track duty. At the drag strip, Dodge officials boast, the Quad Cab will do mid-five-second 0-to-60-mph runs, and sprints the quarter-mile in the high-13s.
While it is heftier (5450 pounds) and has a longer wheelbase (140.5 inches) than its standard-cab compatriot, the Quad Cab shares the same ride height and much the same performance-tuned underpinnings, including independent front suspension and stabilizer bar, beefed-up springs and Bilstein monotube shocks all around.
The verdict after roaring around an autocross track on a gray, rainy day at Chrysler’s proving grounds is that this behemoth acquits itself surprisingly well. When we needed to slow down before things got too wild, SRT’s new 15-inch front, 14-inch rear, four-pot, opposed-piston caliper-disc setup with ABS (also available on the ’05 standard cab) stopped it with authority.
With the exception of the predictable bed hippity-hop over rough pavement, the Quad Cab as a daily commuter is fine. Its hood scoop, NASCAR Craftsman Truck-inspired and engineered, wind tunnel-tested rear wing and 22-inch rims shod with 305/40YR Pirelli Scorpion Zeros definitely crank the ooh-and-aah meter.
The cabin has comfortable seating for four, with nicely bolstered, SRT-accented seating. Options include DVD navigation and Uconnect—a Bluetooth-enabled, hands-free communications system. A tonneau cover/wing combo (available next March) features gas struts to help raise and lower it for easier access to the bed.
Yes, the Viper owners of the world would have survived without the SRT-10 Quad Cab. But we say, the more snakes, the better.
2005 DODGE RAM SRT-10 QUAD CAB
ON SALE:Now
BASE PRICE: $50,850
POWERTRAIN: 8.3-liter, 500-hp, 525-lb-ft V10; rwd, four-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 5450 pounds
0 TO 60 MPH: 5.5 seconds (est.)
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