Video: 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8

It's back for 2012, and it is more powerful than ever. Now the engine is now a 6.4 liter Hemi V8 that makes 465 horsepower and 465 pound feet of torque. That's up from 425 and 420 respectively in the previous engine, which was a 6.1 liter V8. Now the previous engine didn't didn't have any kind of cylinder deactivation or anything like that. This one does have fuel saving technology. And even though it's more powerful, Chrysler says the mileage on the highway is up 25%. 25% more than 19 miles per gallon in the old one is now sort of acceptable instead of just unacceptable. Now, compared with the regular 300C, the SRT8 has been lowered about a half inch. It looks lower still because of a deeper bumper and some sill extensions on the side. Now, one of the interesting things about it is the headlights are blacked out in this one. There are different levels of gloss, depending on which version you get. Now, this car also has a black chrome package, which darkens the bezel around the grill. This is a different look to this grill. It's kind of a layered brick look. Mopar offers a bunch of different grills though. Presumably you can swap them out. The standard wheels are 20 inches in diameter. This is the optional black chrome wheel. Really a gorgeous looking wheel. Everyone was stopping and looking at them at the show. Now rounding out the exterior treatments are a unique rear trunk lid spoiler. Helps with down force on the track. And also the dual exhaust, and in dual four inch tailpipes. Now of course there are some upgrades on the inside too. Because it's an SRT8, it has special sport seats. Not quite as confining as they were in the previous version. They are of course, branded, embroidered SRT. Other accents on the inside include carbon fiber here on the shift bezel, also on the dashboard, and on the doors. Now one really big improvement is the quality of the instrument panel. And it's not just these bright gauges, which I like a lot. It's the display in between them is now a high resolution color display. It replaces what was basically a dot matrix monochrome thing, which was pretty ugly. That is where you see things like your zero to 60 times, your quarter mile times, and your braking distance, all things that are still part of the package when you get the SRT8. The SRT8 version of the 300 comes out this fall. Gas prices are not likely to get much lower by then. All the same, there's still buyers who would want a car like this because of how it feels, how it sounds, and how it looks. Though you might not know from this one. I'd like to see it in a nice menacing black. The white. What were they thinking? <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog, kickingtires.net.