On Jan 29, 8:14 pm, "NoOptio
...@aol.com"
<patrick.mckenzi
...@gmail.com> wrote:
> He digs Audis, but has a thing for the new Chrysler 300C. Then he
> sees pics of the 392 Super Bee, and LOVES it. He says it would have
> to be in black and he might go with the 6-speed manual. I can't stop
> grinning; I seem to have taught him well.
> The production is only 1,000, not sure how many, if any, will be left
> in the inventory come Spring/early Summer.
> We'll see where this goes.
I'm really liking this Super Bee. After reading more, it truly is
NoOption approved.
Here is an article and the details, from MT.
There's so much smoke wafting around the figure-eight track, I have to
look through the passenger-side of the windshield to see where the car
is headed. I barrel down the straight while the Charger Super Bee's
6.4-liter Hemi pours out its constant gurgling bellow. I jump on the
brakes and the nose dives onto the front tires as the tailpipes
burble. Hard left, and the front end bites in and the tail begins to
rotate like it's afraid of the orange cones. Halfway through the 200-
foot turn and it's hard on the gas, and the car tenses as the smoke
rolls off the rear tires.
The cop-show heroics continue until just before the pillar of smoke
reaches a level that would attract the attention of the local fire
department. It has gone on long enough to make me want a Charger --
and I don't even like big cars. I drove the full line of SRT8 vehicles
a few months back at Willow Springs Raceway and left impressed, but
not sold. The chassis tuning was impressive, and the 470-hp and 470 lb-
ft of torque threw the car forward with ease, but the entire thing
just didn't seem to live up to its musclecar heritage. The Super Bee
package sets everything right, turning a fast luxo-cruiser into the
knuckle-dragging beast it was always meant to be. To start with, the
leather seating is gone. In an effort to create a world-class interior
for the standard Charger SRT8, Chrysler put together a package that
neither lives up to the European benchmarks nor its musclecar roots.
The Super Bee, however, nails it perfectly, forgoing the luxury hides
for black cloth with yellow stripes as well as Super Bee logos
embroidered on the seats. The SRT8 steering wheel remains, but the
navigation system was cut for cost savings. In its place is a touch
screen not much bigger than a smartphone to handle HVAC, audio, and
phone control.
Other amenities have also been left for the standard SRT8 and
contribute to the nearly 100-pound savings in the Super Bee. Gone are
front and rear heated seats -- wear a jacket. You won't get heated and
cooled cupholders; people in the '60s survived without Starbucks, and
so can you. Say goodbye to the 19-speaker harman/kardon premium audio
system; tailpipes are better than tweeters any day. You won't even
notice the LED reading lights are gone -- it's a car, not a library.
There are other features missing inside as well, but why continue to
mention what isn't there?
Underneath the car, a few more components have disappeared for the
sake of simplicity and honesty.
The Bilstein Adaptive Damping Suspension, which allows shock rates to
be adjusted at the flip of a switch, is replaced with standard
dampers. While the ADS does look good on paper, I never found myself
wishing for softer settings during normal driving or stiffer settings
during testing. It seems to pay off in performance, too, since the
Super Bee is slightly faster around our figure eight than the last
SRT8 we tested.
The Super Bee might be slowed down by the lack of 20-inch forged
wheels, which have been replaced by cast pieces. The cheaper and
heavier wheels are still a split five-spoke design and remain wrapped
in 245/40 Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercars. This brings us to an important
point on all the SRT8s. Although the 4.4-second 0-60-mph time and the
12.8-second, 112.6-mph quarter mile are impressive, a good set of
sticky tires would likely shave a couple tenths off both numbers.
There would, however, be a trade-off. The big, smoky, sideways
shenanigans described at the beginning of this review would not be
nearly as easy to perform with a better set of tires. As the Super Bee
sits right now, big power slides come easy and often. Long, arcing
drifts are simple to control and as rewarding as finishing a steak
that earns you a T-shirt. Although bragging about performance is fun,
I'd rather be out creating smoke at the track than blowing it from a
barstool.
The Charger SRT8 Super Bee isn't for everyone. Some buyers will still
want the coddling and comforting supplied by the standard car, but
when I fantasize about chasing a perp through the city's alleys and
parking garages, I don't care if my Frappuccino is chilled while my
cheeks are warmed. I'll take my Super Bee in Pitch Black and put the
money saved into rear tires.
Patrick
