 |
| 2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 Roadster (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com) |
There is a five speed automatic transmission with a manual mode called auto-stick. No manual box is available on the SRT6. Shifts are smooth and precise, and the manual selections respond reasonably fast. There is even a winter driving setting, which when used with the ESP (Electronic Stability Program) keeps the car on its best behavior in snowy and icy conditions. I had the somewhat unfortunate chance to be stuck in a nasty snowstorm with the Crossfire, and even with its factory tires, it still handled the nasty cocktail of snow, ice and sleet very well by way of the ESP. The ESP system is toned down a little on the SRT6 to allow for some spirited driving. It doesn't try and correct your every move as you make it, but rather waits a split second to see if you are planning on trying anything risky before applying the brakes and cutting engine power. The system works amazingly well, and is so intelligent that it even manages to work when you turn it off. Don't expect any full out sideways stuff in the SRT6- pressing the ESP button merely loosens the leash a little, rather than taking it off. Come to think of it, one doesn't buy a car such as this to do full-out, opposite lock, tire-smoking drifts anyhow.
Straight line performance is fine, but a true performance machine will have balanced and razor sharp handling to match, as well as powerful, fade free brakes to help brush off bursts of speed in a hurry.
Check.
The stiffened springs and sport tuned suspension help make quick work of bends in the road by allowing the SRT6 to corner completely flat, and provide more grip than you will likely ever need. Despite all this grip, and there is a huge amount of it, the suspension isn't overly harsh, though definitely not plush. This is about as close as track ready as suspension
 |
| 2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 Roadster (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com) |
gets without being awful to your spine. You can even feel the car bounce quickly while cornering hard over slightly uneven surfaces as the stiff springs do their thing. Though I found the handling performance of the SRT6 to be inspiring, the steering is somewhat numb. Whereas I prefer direct and communicative steering in a performance car, you get the idea driving the SRT6 that it's filtering out some of the feedback from the road. The brakes are powerful, with plenty of communication between the pedal and the tire, with the antilock system only coming on when absolutely needed. I was pleasantly surprised that it actually allows a moderate amount of lockup before kicking in, allowing the driver to do more of the braking and modulation as needed. The brakes, in addition to being incredibly powerful, are fade free.
You'll find the SRT6 is like a pocket knife for the performance minded, offering something for every aspect of the performance spectrum. Massive
 |
| 2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 Roadster (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com) |
brakes to slow you down for a corner, near race-ready suspension to slice through the corner, and 330 horses to power out of it.
Chrysler has hit big with the SRT6 as far as I can tell. They have taken nearly unparalleled elegance and grace, and infused it with furious performance and even more eye-catching good looks. The performance and luxury sides of the car never loose out to one another. It's this most unusual combination of personality traits that make this car so wonderful. It's like an angry football player in a business suit, or a ballerina with a rocket launcher.
