It’s been nearly two decades since Dodge produced the Neon SRT-4. Despite a short three-year run, The SRT-4 made a mark in motorsport.
Doug Shepherd owns this SRT-4. If that name sounds familiar, you might know his father, Doug Shepherd. (For simplicity purposes, …
The only fwd car I've ever wanted (new). GLHS, notwithstanding.
In reply to Appleseed :
I had a base model 2001 Dodge Neon as my first car that wasn't a hand-me-down. It was okay. I can only imagine the difference between that and the SRT-4.
This is kind of amazing given how few Neon SRT4s were made and beaten to dust. There was recently a thread about how rare Neons are in general. They are a motorsport legend in that I don't think many know how much they dominated racing series.
I worked inside the Dodge Motorsport/SRT department around the time of Doug Sr era. Focused more on a potential 2nd Gen Neon super touring car and remember having a look at the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen rally car belts and cage arrangements to gather any lessons learned. There was another internal to company rally racer that I will have to try and dig up his information.
I started autocross, rallycross, ice racing and then SCCA IT racing all in Neons!!!
In reply to Advan046 :
Kind of my thoughts - SRT-4s are getting rarer and rarer it seems. Thanks for sharing the perspective!
Chris Greenhouse is still keeping the torch lit, with his badass rally SRT-4.
I had the pleasure of crewing for a stage rally team that Chris was navigating for (I also met Wally that weekend) and we were talking about his SRT-4 and he said to me, and I paraphrase slightly, "I don't race that car because I'm a Dodge diehard. I race that car because I think it's the best platform for what I'm doing. If there was a better car, I'd be racing that."
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
It's gotten to the point where an SRT-4 catches my attention quicker than some supercars...
I have no idea where they all went, I have only ever seen one in the junkyard but they were only ever a common sight on the road for about 5 years after they were sold. My dad still has his first gen ACR, it's very worn out at this point but he still drives it all the time.
NickD said:Chris Greenhouse is still keeping the torch lit, with his badass rally SRT-4.
I had the pleasure of crewing for a stage rally team that Chris was navigating for (I also met Wally that weekend) and we were talking about his SRT-4 and he said to me, and I paraphrase slightly, "I don't race that car because I'm a Dodge diehard. I race that car because I think it's the best platform for what I'm doing. If there was a better car, I'd be racing that."
When I rallycrossed with him, he campaigned a single cam first generation Neon. He said, paraphrased, more power would be nice, but first I want to find myself needing it. (I probably butchered that all to hell, it's been like 15 years)
Clearly he felt he needed it, since then 
I still recall getting to ride in his stage Neon on a fast/rough rallycross course. He was running DMS suspension at the time, I think, and my mind was blown at how well controlled the suspension was. You can do a lot with only 150hp if you don't have to mind the chassis.
It's a good platform for rally. Stone simple and it works. Maybe it could use more front suspension travel, but what front wheel drive car doesn't? The front suspension and the transaxle were both light years better than the VWs that were popular. And every Neon came with a sixteen valve 2 liter.
Good stuff there with the Neon. Before the '08 Challenger came out they were popular and plentiful.
Unfortunately, the Modern MoPar offerings and corporate structure is just a shell of itself. I wonder how long it will take for Stellantis to completely crush it and divest all of the holdings.
slantsix said:Good stuff there with the Neon. Before the '08 Challenger came out they were popular and plentiful.
Unfortunately, the Modern MoPar offerings and corporate structure is just a shell of itself. I wonder how long it will take for Stellantis to completely crush it and divest all of the holdings.
Yeah, whatever happened to all those Neons. There were a ton!
You still see a few in the Tampa area running around. The amount of disrespect it gets is crazy, but not surprising. The SRT4 just seems to trigger people though lol
There were a couple guys in Tampa who were original owners and kept their SRT4s in their garage as they got older. On my commute, 10 years ago, I used to see a guy daily driving his, in what looked stock original condition (maybe modded underneath). There was also one guy who had his since new when he was in school and autocrossed his, but I haven't seen it in years as we've lost autocross sites.
This very cool 2nd gen Neon rally car came to the PVGP.
Reminded me of this one from way back in the day at the Susquehannock Rally.
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