The Chrysler Crossfire, built for DCX by Wilhelm Karmann and offered as both a coupe and a roadster, was launched in 2003 and was intended to have a life cycle of about 5 years.  2005 marked the introduction of the SRT-6 variant of this sporty two-seater coupe, and shortly after the roadster was added for those who want to feel the wind through their hair while exercising the 330 ponies packed under the hood.  The Crossfire portrays decades of German motoring excellence packaged in a sporty little package, with the standard V6 offering 215 horsepower mated to either an automatic or close ratio manual transmission, and add to that pairing the sport tuned suspension, the Crossfire will handle a winding country road in northern New Hampshire just as well as it will handle pure high speed on Germany’s Autobahn. 

However, for some, 215 horsepower and a basic tuned suspension setup is not enough, and that’s where the Supercharged, 330 horsepower SRT-6 model comes into play.  While the power numbers get everyone’s attention at first glance, there is much more to the Crossfire SRT-6 than just a roots style supercharger and a bunch of extra power.  The suspension was completely redesigned and tested on some of Europe’s most demanding ovals and road courses, with different suspension setups for the coupe and roadster to counter the handling and weigh transfer differences between the two models.  Both models are equipped with high performance Michelin tires and a specially tuned electronic stability program to further the SRT-6 handling capabilities.  In the event that the high speed romps through the twists and turns of a road course or back road prove to be too ‘high speed’, the SRT-6 is equipped with an upgrading braking system, boasting 13” brake rotors in the front and 11.8” rotors in the rear, all of which are clamped down upon by dual piston calipers.  These additions make an already excellent car far more capable, but quality mechanical engineering was not where the designers of the SRT-6 halted their efforts.

The exterior is not redesigned so much as it is refined, and those refinements add as much function as they do form.  The standard Crossfire comes with a speed activated rear spoiler which rises out of the trunk area at highway speeds, but for the SRT-6, there is no need to wait for the wing to rise as the high performance model comes equipped with a carefully designed, fixed rear spoiler.  This spoiler has proven to add needed downforce at high speeds as well as stabilizing the cars aerodynamics, all without compromising a low coefficient of drag. Contributing to the effort of added downforce is the subtly refined front fascia, which has only a small lower lip added to give the car a bit of extra front end downforce, but unlike some more elaborate front fascias, this one does not draw as much attention, or cause as much drag.  The last real noticeable change to the exterior of the SRT-6 models is the addition of huge SRT 15-spoke aluminum wheels.  Measuring 18 inches in the front and 19 inches in the rear, these bright silver wheels help to give the SRT-6 a surer footed stance, especially when wrapped in the high performance Michelin rubber.  The exterior enhancements provide just enough to help the SRT-6 models stand apart of the base models in both looks and performance, and climbing inside the SRT-6, you see that the subtle yet important changes did not stop on the outside.  The first thing that most people notice is the addition of race inspired seats; leather wrapped with a suede center section and the SRT-6 badge embroidered on the headrests.  The suede inserts help to give some grip to the seats, keeping the driver and passenger in place under hard cornering, as sliding around in the leather seats is a common complaint.  Once seated in the race seats, the next noticeable item is the SRT gauge cluster with the 200 mph speedometer, making an obvious statement of performance.

All in all, the SRT-6 makes a great name for itself with the many additions over the base model, but no car is without complaints from the public.  The first, and biggest complaint is the price tag, which ranges from $45,000 to $50,000 depending on the body style and options chosen, and compared to other cars in that price range, such as a new Chevrolet Corvette, the SRT-6 struggles to compete.  The second complaint is that the SRT-6 is not offered with a manual transmission option, because honestly, what is a sports car without a clutch? 

Unfortunately, as much fun as the Crossfire and the SRT-6 are to drive, low sales numbers due to a variety of reasons have caused production numbers to decrease greatly, with 2007 production numbers rumored to drop by about 60%, and with a drop like that, one has to wonder how long the sporty coupe and roadster from Chrysler will be around.