Looks like the Dodge boys are stepping into the ring. The original Neon SRT4 was a bruiser of a car with the turbo 4 it had. It sounds like the Dart will be getting some performance to target the ST and its various competition.
Marchionne confirms Dodge Dart SRT4
Marchionne confirms Dodge Dart SRT4
During a recent interview with Automobile Magazine, Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed that the company is currently a Dodge Dart SRT4 but the Chief Exec did not offer any details on the high performance variant of the new C segment sedan. There have long been rumors of a pending Dodge Dart SRT4 which have been bolstered by comments from SRT President Ralph Gilles but Sergio Marchionne’s comment to Automobile about the existence of the SRT Dart is the first piece of official information that it is in the works. Marchionne went on to state that "the only thing we're fighting over now is to determine how big an engine we stick in it."
The 2013 Dodge Dart is available with three different engines starting with a naturally aspirated 2.0L 4-cylinder (160hp, 148lb-ft of torque), followed by a turbocharged 1.4L 4-cylinder (160hp, 184lb-ft of torque) and topped off with the new 2.4L Tigershark 4-cylinder engine (184hp, 171lb-ft of torque). The company has already shown that they can squeeze 210hp out of a naturally aspirated 2.4L Tigershark engine but that isn’t going to be enough for the Dart SRT. The engine that arrives in the Dart SRT will likely pack forced induction and to be taken seriously, the power output would need to be up around the 300 horsepower mark. That seems like a stretch from the 1.4L motor found in the Fiat 500 Abarth and many of the Dart models but the 2.4L Tigershark 4-cylinder mated to a turbocharged may allow this compact engine to make big power while still offering acceptable fuel economy figures.