Street and Racing Technology (SRT) Performance Vehicles Impress Robb Report

SYDNEY – June 20, 2012: The international luxury lifestyle magazine Robb Report recently selected the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 as one of the top performers in its annual “Car of the Year” competition—ranking the high-performance SUV from the Chrysler Group at No. 9 amongst new vehicles from around the world.

The Grand Cherokee SRT8 also was cited by the magazine for the “Best of the Best: 2012: Sport Utility Vehicles” list, while the Chrysler 300 SRT8 made the list of “Best of the Best: 2012: Sedans.”

Robb Report readers were among the judges who joined the magazine’s editors and writers in driving, evaluating and ranking the “Car of the Year” and “Best of the Best” vehicles based on interior design, layout, amenities and luxury features.

"The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is proof that an American-made SUV can dish out the performance, looks and quality to run with the biggest dogs from Europe and do it at half the price, leaving enough change to hitch something really nice to the back,” Robert Ross, Robb Report’s automotive consultant, said.

The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 builds upon the most-awarded SUV ever to become the most powerful, technologically advanced, high-performance Jeep vehicle ever featuring a combination of the Jeep brand’s legendary capability and utility, merged with the renowned advanced performance engineering from the SRT team.

The luxurious interior features the SRT-exclusive, leather-wrapped and heated, flat-bottomed steering wheel with paddle shifters; standard SRT-styled Nappa leather and suede seats with sculpted bolsters that are both heated (front and rear) and ventilated (front); real carbon-fiber interior accents; and a 19-speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound system. On the street or at the race track, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 is one of the fastest SUVs in the world, churning out 470 horsepower from its 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 engine.

The 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 also impressed the Robb Report judges with its high-performance capabilities.

"The Chrysler 300 SRT8 takes an American favorite and equips it with a serious performance personality,” Ross said. “It's at home with great European sports sedans, but the potent HEMI V-8 reminds drivers they're behind the wheel of a modern American muscle car.”

The Chrysler brand’s flagship performance sedan features an interior environment that combines world-class luxury accommodations with performance-oriented technology and appointments with the leather-wrapped, flat-bottom, heated SRT-exclusive steering wheel with paddle shifters; heated (front and rear) and ventilated (front) seats; 8.4-inch Electronic Vehicle Information Center touchscreen display with SRT-exclusive performance pages; along with real carbon fiber accents. The Chrysler 300 SRT8 also is powered by the 470 horsepower, 6.4-liter HEMI.

“We’re honored to have two of our 2012 SRT vehicles recognized by Robb Report,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO—SRT Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC. “At SRT, we strive to deliver high-quality, high-performance vehicles; and so to be acknowledged for these significant awards, it reaffirms our successful formula to develop top contenders that compete well with other high-performance vehicles from around the world.”

The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 will be launched in Australia in September 2012.