Chicago fire: Dodge puts 375-hp Hemi V8 in Durango SRT

“Performance” SUVs are not a new concept, but FCA's Dodge brand opens a new niche-within-a-niche with the unveiling of the 2018 Durango SRT at the 2017 Chicago auto show, calling it “the fastest SUV in its class.”

Dodge officials didn't directly say just who's asking for a grocery-getter SUV with 475 hp (354 kW) and 470 lb·ft (637 N·m) from a 6.4-L (or, more historically relevant, 392-in³) V8 that enables cutting a 12.9-s quarter mile time, but the Durango SRT will be in showrooms for that buyer starting in the fourth quarter. Some of the work of adapting the 6.4-L Hemi for the Durango already was done: it is the same iron-block, pushrod V8 with a 10.9:1 compression ratio that appears in the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, which shares its architecture with the Durango.