Dodge turns Durango SUV into a 475-horsepower screamer

Dodge is giving its Durango seven-passenger SUV even more power and attitude with a new SRT edition for its Chicago Auto Show debut.

Dodge is touting the performance of the 2018 Durango SRT  by calling it the "most powerful and most capable" three-row SUV.

The new Durango will be equipped with a Hemi V-8 engine that generates 475 horsepower. It has a towing capacity of 8,600 pounds.

“This is what you get, when you take everything great about the Durango and combine it with the performance of the Charger SRT: a 12-second quarter mile, toy-hauling, three-row muscle car," says Tim Kuniskis, head of Fiat Chrysler's car brands, in a statement.

Dodge sold more than 68,000 Durango SUVs in 2016 with a lineup that spans nine trim levels ranging in starting price from $29,995 to $42,095. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles did not release pricing for the 2018 Durango SRT.

SRT is a Dodge subbrand that is reserved for performance versions of each model.

The SRT version of the Durango comes with a host of special performance features that include:

•Newly designed SRT hood with cold-air duct and heat extractors to cool the engine and improve overall performance.
•Standard eight-speed automatic transmission specially calibrated for the Dodge Durango SRT.
•New SRT seven-mode drive system that gives the driver the ability to precisely adjust drive settings to maximize performance or comfort.
•New exhaust system tuned to offer a deep, high-performance exhaust note modeled after the Dodge Charger SRT.
•New Brembo high-performance brakes.

It will begin arriving in dealerships during the fourth quarter of this year.

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