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Chrysler Australia Pays Tribute to 1969 Valiant Pacer With One-Off 300 SRT

If you want the 392 HEMI in the 300, Chrysler is very willing to sell you the 6.4-liter engine as long as you’re Australian. The United States makes do with the 348 HEMI, the 5.7 that cranks out “best-in-class horsepower and torque” (363 hp, 394 lb-ft).
Chrysler 300 SRT Pacer 7 photos
Photo: Chrysler
Chrysler 300 SRT PacerChrysler 300 SRT PacerChrysler 300 SRT PacerChrysler 300 SRT PacerChrysler 300 SRT PacerChrysler 300 SRT Pacer
It’s hard to understand why Chrysler is shooting itself in the foot like this, more so if you remember that a luxury sedan with the engine from a half-ton pickup isn’t exactly the most prestigious combination out there. The 392 would be a better fit in the U.S. of A. thanks to the performance offensive of the Dodge brand and SRT go-faster division.

Turning our attention to the Wild Yellow-painted Chrysler 300 SRT Pacer, the Australia-exclusive build pays tribute to the Valiant Pacer from five decades ago. The 6.4-liter blunderbuss is tuned to develop 350 kW and 637 Nm at the crankshaft, the equivalent to 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Curiously enough, the 392 HEMI in R/T Scat Pack models from Dodge boast 485 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque in the U.S.

“Inconsistency” is the word that best defines Chrysler’s strategy this day and age, and the marketing for the special edition is somewhat of a blunder as well. We’re told that “the SRT Pacer aims to provide an affordable high-performance large sedan that resonates with Australian motoring enthusiasts,” yet FoMoCo and General Motors were the big players Down Under back in the days when the Falcon and Monaro were produced locally.

Chrysler can only dream of getting Aussie car lovers excited about the 392 HEMI as much as they are about the Barra inline-six and LS small-block V8 engine families. Adding insult to injury, Chrysler is the first of the Big Three in Detroit to switch from manufacturer to importer in the Oz. Chrysler Australia, Ltd. ceased to exist in 1980, bought by Mitsubishi.

On an ending note, the Valiant Pacer built by Chrysler in Adelaide came with an unbecoming engine for a performance car. The 225-cu.in Slant Six is the culprit, replaced in 1970 by the HEMI-6 engine in the VG-model Valiant.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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