Chrysler's Intrepid R/T, the road car

But under the hood is where the R/T is not the same. Instead of the current run-of-the-mill V6 engines, the R/T driver will see the 3.5-liter V-6 usually found under the hood of a Chrysler 300M or a Plymouth Prowler. That translates into 242 horsepower at 6,400 rpm (11 less than the same engine in the 300M) and 248 pounds-foot of torque (5 less than in the 300M), numbers usually associated to a V-8 engine. Otherwise, the strongest engine offered in an Intrepid is the 3.2-liter V-6 rated at 225 horsepower. Mated to this powerplant is a four-speed automatic transmission that includes the AutoStick shifter allowing the driver to choose the gear he wishes?to a certain extent. By the way, this tranny is almost foolproof in a way that you cannot overrev the engine or hold the speed up too high as the transmission will shift by itself to avoid self-destruction. Chrysler did not only include a bigger engine to make this car a genuine R/T. The suspension got a little tweaking to make it slightly stiffer and wheels and tires were changed to bigger 17 original wheels shod with 225/55 Michelin MXM4 Pilot tires. On other Intrepid cars, the bigger wheels would be 16 inchers. The exhaust system was modified to have less restriction giving the Intrepid a more powerful sound. However, this sound is not annoying, just sweet enough to remind the driver he has a strong machine in his hands.