2007 Dodge Magnum SRT8 Road Test

2007 Dodge Magnum SRT8 Road Test
by Justin Pritchard / Auto123.com

Step aside girly cars- Dodge's race-ready wagon is out for blood.

Want a race-car that snorts like Ron Fellows' Cadillac? Need the size and safety of a family wagon? Now, thanks to Dodge, you can have both.

Their Magnum effectively put station wagons back on the map with blocky American styling, a comfortable interior and selection of engine and drivetrain configurations.

A family hauler with attitude.

Topping the model lineup is the factory-tuned Magnum SRT8 from Dodge's Street and Racing Technology (SRT) team. Their job is to bump performance on selected models to extremes of street-legal limits, while creating matching style updates to reflect the additional power visually.

The upgrades
The SRT8 Magnum is lowered and carries a more aggressive looking front bumper that incorporates fog-lamps and brake-ducting. These ducts direct fresh air onto a set of red Brembo brake calipers that peek out from behind twenty-inch wheels. Each is the size of a halved fifty-gallon barrel, and they wear Eagle F1 Supercar tires for gut-wrenching grip.

SRT8 rides on performance-enhanced suspension that helps it defy its size. Lift-off oversteer is easy to employ in tight bends, and the Magnum safely understeers at its limit, making it predictable and safe to drive hard. It drives the proper wheels too- the rear ones. This helps make it feel balanced and poised at all times. It corners unbelievably well for a rear-wheel-drive bungalow, and seems to forget how heavy it is when asked to stop or steer.

Mechanical mayhem for seriously twisted power
It's much the same story when you ask it to get moving too, because with a 6.1 litre HEMI V8 belting out 425 horsepower, this thing is seriously, brutally quick. Power handled by a 5-speed automatic transmission with manual mode called AutoStick. It's more a toy than a tool, and an extra gear would have been welcomed in certain situations.

On the track
On a racing circuit where many SRT8 owners push their machines to their limits, the Magnum impresses. The power positively annihilates lesser cars on straight stretches, while the fade-resistant brakes brush off speed quickly- allowing drivers to spend more time on the throttle. Plenty of warning is provided if you're pushing your luck laterally, and the ESP can be turned down, but not off. It generally stays out of your fun while making sure you stay out of the rhubarb.

The Magnum SRT8 feels at home on the racetrack.

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