I am new to this forum, and the world of eurocars and how they make horsepower, but Iam not new to American cars and motorcycles and how we make horsepower. Ihave built a number of Harleys from the ground up, a couple of American cars and spent 2 years with a semi pro NHRA Top Alcohol Funny car team, so Ido have some knowledge.
I am doing tons of research on buying a "fun car" and the Crossfire really has my eye in a big way. This is going to be a "project car" from the minute it rolls into my driveway and I want safety, reliability and performance in that order.

Before the oldtimers here tell me to "search", let me say I have. This is a massive database going back years, and the amount of information here is massive, but being a forum, it's not always easy to locate and it comes in pieces. Some info in a hundred forums and another piece in another hundred. I am seriously impressed with what's here, but for a neophyte, it's difficult to sort thru.

I have some performance questions about the NA XF and want to focus specifically on that. I fully understand the SRT and what it offers, but what it offers comes at a price of lacking certain abilities I find attractive. Please refrain from the "but the SRT has this or the SRTdoes this" comments.

With a NA XF, I know that the engine, as it comes stock, has the ability to generate one hell of a lot more horsepower that it comes with. Mercedes has a long history of racing and that technology has created an entire aftermarket industry just to make horsepower, and that includes engines not using superchargers. With the difference in cost between a NA and an SRT, Im thinking of taking that money and building a XF engine to significantly increase the horsepower. I have read the turbocharger thread and the problems encountered. I've searched online and don't find any other sources that have gone down this road and offer a system for the XF, which is a shame.

With a NA engine, and using bolt on parts, to improve intake airflow, engine management software, ignition, a complete exhaust system, what are the reasonable horespower increases that could be seen? I've have read the threads where this engine is dissed because it doesn't have the "forged rods" and other parts in the SRT, but Iknow enough about engines that it would be possible to easily increase the horsepower in this engine by at least a factor of 2 without even beginning to worry about the ability of the internals to take that kind of power. The question is how much horsepower can be made with this NA engine and how to get there, and in what order?

I may well buy an SRT, in fact Iam leaning heavily that direction, but before I do I want to look long and hard at going down this path. I plan on finding exactly the right car and keeping it, making every winter downtime to make changes. My goal is one very fast, responsive car that holds the road like a slot car, and is not something you see very often.

I want to tap the wealth of knowledge that exists here, but like every internet forum out there, on every subject imaginable, there are those who actually have the knowledge, and those that talk like they do. I really want to talk to those ofyou who are not only enthusiasts, but gearheads.