Dodge Caliber SRT4 Is... Dead

The roughest year in the company’s history that also included filing for Chapter 11 protection led Chrysler into the position of halting production of the Caliber SRT4 and focus more on the Caliber models, higher in volume sales.

First introduced at the Chicago Auto Show in February 2006, the SRT4 has been launched as a replacement for the original Neon-based SRT-4 produced by Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology group.

Unfortunately, as reported by caranddriver.com, it failed to live up to its predecessor, so the company decided to cut it off from the Caliber’s powertrain chart for 2010.

Presented as a more powerful but similarly priced competitor for the Volkswagen GTI, the Caliber SRT4, with its 286 HP powerplant on a front-wheel drive vehicle, has drawn criticism from some purists.

But the death of the model itself does not come alone, as the decision also means the death of SRT4’s 285-hp, 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which survived for two model years only in a Chrysler product.

As we said, Chrysler decided to strengthen the Caliber models, and it already revealed details of the 2010 version that will make its first public debut at the 2009 International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt.

The new model features a redesigned interior and a new Common-rail Diesel (CRD) engine, mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The engine configuration is also available in a 2.0-liter World Engine which replaces the 1.8 liter and a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that is also the most powerful variant.