Guess what? We’re special. Special enough that Chrysler is offering a car here that is not offered in North America. The 2016 Chrysler 300 SRT is still built there, but will only go on sale in a handful of overseas markets such as South Africa, Australia and Japan as well as all the GCC countries. And we got our hands on a fresh example.
Cyber-security researchers Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller were in the news earlier this week after a Wired magazine story showed the two programmers access critical vehicle controls on a Jeep Cherokee that allowed them to remotely control critical vehicle functions. The Fiat-Chrysler group had already been alerted to the issue and were quietly offering a software fix to customers in a bid to not alert malicious hackers. However, Chrysler is not the first brand to be vulnerable to hacking, as Chevrolet and BMW were in the news for the same reason this year.
“I. Am. Invincible!!!!!” That’s what I was shouting when, yet again, we accepted an invitation to the annual Jeep Jamboree back in December, and came out of it alive and in one piece. This year’s event was murder, to the point where about 99% of the participants came in with just Wranglers, whereas previous events have had a mix of Cherokees and Grand Cherokees as well. The course was that tough. And we were provided with a bone-stock 2015 Jeep Wrangler Sahara by the local dealer in Dubai.
We wanted a vehicle to take a trip from Dubai down to Abu Dhabi for some event, so we hit up Chrysler. They offered a 2015 Ram 1500 Laramie, a truck we last drove back in 2012, but figured we’ll give it another look. Nothing much has changed, has it? Well, some things have changed.
With all the hype over the Dodge Charger Hellcat, people seem to have forgotten that there is an entire range of 2015 Charger sedans positioned below it. At the end of the day, the biggest sellers are going to be the Charger V6 and Charger R/T models, and while everyone was busy playing with the SRTs like little kids, we snuck out with the “regular” Chargers for a spin during our recent trip to the United States. Heck, we even drove the police “Pursuit” model as well.
Chrysler have taken off the covers for the 2015 300 and 300C at the 2014 LA Auto Show. It gets a lot of subtle visual updates and the interior has been improved as well.
There’s nothing more painful than attending an international launch event where you get to drive yet another slow crossover or copy-paste luxury sedan on some of the world’s best driving roads. We give these cars fair unbiased reviews in the interest of those who are interested in such cars, but the truth is we always yearn to drive something more special on such roads. Lo and behold, we found ourselves in Washington D.C., right around the corner from the White House, on a quest to drive two of the wildest sedans on the planet — the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT 392 and the Charger SRT Hellcat.
Jeep is an absolutely amazing brand that earned its heritage the hard way. It wasn’t by becoming popular as the ride of choice for dictators or royalty. It wasn’t by taking part in racing events that entertained a niche crowd. And it wasn’t by building cheap reliable transportation. Oh no, the “hard way” meant winning World War 2. Times have changed though, but current-owners Fiat-Chrysler seem to have strived hard to make sure some of that legendary heritage has rubbed off on the all-new Jeep Renegade.
This here is the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. It packs the 707 hp V8 that debuted in the Challenger Hellcat earlier this summer. As if no one saw that coming.
A quick stroll of the Jeep showroom in Dubai had us do a double-take as, on the Chrysler-Dodge side was a whole line-up of Dodge Dart compact sedans on display.