Chrysler SRT-8 E490 2007 Review

Nostalgia, it would seem, is alive and well at DaimlerChrysler Australia. How else do you explain an SRT8 fitted with a few components from the company's Mopar parts and accessories catalogue being reborn as (drum roll) the E490?

Clearly tipping the hat (and thus opening the order book) to the mighty Charger E49 of the early '70s, the lightly-modded SRT8 is an exercise in creative marketing; a swaggering show-stand special intended to package together a few glitz 'n' go bits hopeful of ADR approval.

Should the regulatory rubber stamp be forthcoming, the wheel, tyre, exhaust and induction package should add around $10,000 to the cost of an SRT8 (sedan or Touring.) You get to keep your original components, and the little orange E490 stickers come for free...

Further splashes of 'good-old-days bright orange' are found on the rocker covers and air intake duct. The latter, along with the Magnaflow stainless steel exhaust system, are the only performance-oriented modifications. Wheels and tyres are the same dimensions as the originals.

The less restricted flow and cooler intake charge accounts for the power increase, suggested by Chrysler Oz to be around 15-20kW.

Is it louder? Yes, appreciably. Faster? Yep, marginally. We recorded a 5.5/13.5sec, a couple of 10ths quicker than the sedan we tested in October '07. The Touring variant here is also some 100kg tubbier than the sedan, so the claimed hike in herbs sounds credible.

The increase in noise can both delight and distress. At mid to upper revs, the new exhaust allows the big Hemi to holler unimpeded, unleashing a beautifully primal bellow underpinned by that unburstable, can-do-this-all-day quality of a large-capacity V8.

And this thing really does haul - point it, plant it, and ideally, plan a destination, because it's a big ol' boy that quickly reels in the horizon.

The downside, though, of allowing all this heavy metal to breathe with less impediment is most apparent when trundling around the city and suburbs. On light throttle openings, with the revs hovering around 1500-1800rpm, there's a low-resonance boom that would be classified as a form of torture if you were subjected to it in Guantanamo Bay.

Dash plastics quiver and small children vibrate. DC Oz assures us it can be improved and will be less of an issue by the time the company hopes to have ADR approval.

So we'll reserve judgement, but this loss of low-speed civility and the hefty price for small gain left us wondering if the old adage is true: maybe nostalgia just ain't what it used to be.