I test drove the Crossfire, and it's a neat little car.
It just has no *****.
Am I the only one wondering if the new Hemi will fit?

Too much is never enough......

 

No ***** ??
It depends what you're comparing it with. :?

 

Who needs the Hemi if the SRT6 has 330 hp ??

 

Why would you put a blower on a car that could swallow a v8?
Extra stress on the engine is not worth the tradeoff.
A 345 hp V8 would make this car absolutely unbelieveable..
And Chyrsler could drop the 6th gear ratio for better highway mileage...
.84???? Come on!!!!
That's only necessary because of the puny 3.2!

 

I agree, the Crossfire needs more ponies, a car that looks like the Crossfire ought to be able to back it up. Love mine but 330HP sounds awful nice and I probably will trade.

 

330 horses are better, but it's the torque that you really feel.
I know that the hemi makes way better low down torque than the blown 3.2. I'd bet positive pressure doesn't even occur until about 2000 rpm.
Not so with a torquey V8.
Hemi 5.7 weighs roughly 590lbs. There would be some weight added.
So some weight would have to be taken out of the front end to compensate.
The T56 6speed from the Viper/Corvette/Camaro can handle the torque from the Hemi.
It's a no brainer.
The bottom line is that if the Crossfire were to be assembled in the US, it could have had a Hemi.
But since Karmann assembles it in DE, the Merc V6 was more readily available and thus was chosen.
Damn!!!

 

No doubt more power would add to the fun factor.

But it's not just a matter of dropping the Hemi (now THERE'S a modern piece of machinery...) into the engine bay, even if there is the room.

The added weight would dramatically alter the handling characteristics that are so much a part of the charm of the car, meaning the entire suspension would've needed to be designed from scratch. Ditto the brakes.

Because DC did not have to start w/ a clean sheet of paper in terms of running gear, it was able to come up with a uniquely styled, adequate performance for most folks sports coupe that can now easily be had new for under $30K.

Had they dropped the hemi in and started from scratch in all the rest of the running gear, this car would've likely been well over $50K. Which is fine, but at that price I don't know that it would've sold a whole lot better even with the extra punch.

 

Well, the major thing that conspires against the HemiX is the location of build.
Had the car been built in the US, the factory would have had access to the Hemi that is currently produced in Mexico; to the tune of 400,000 units per year. Compare that to the MB 3.2 How many of those are produced anually? 75k? I don't know; but the number of cars that MB produces pales in comparison.

Cost would undoubtedly drop.
Technology is not just for technology' sake. I'd take a pushrod Hemi with Displacement on demand technology in it over the OHC stuff in the MB motor. KISS factor. And with DOD it'll probably get better mileage than the v6. At least on the highway.
Total weight added from motor alone would be about 200 lbs.
Why doesn't DC take a page from their own concept car and make some panels of Carbon fiber.

Good handling does not always stem from 50/50. The only major revisions to the suspension would be stiffer springs/swaybars and the accompanying shocks to go with them. Not that big of a deal.
It's a mute point. Chrysler won't do it, but it makes for good bench racing.

My point is that if this car is going to be the first indulgence into a cooperative effort for DC. What part of the car is the American part? If anything, the one part that has made American cars American over the past 50 years has been the V8.
We didn' t invent it but we did popularized it, so why not make the car with a V8.
Even the designers of the exterior are British, I mean come on!!!!!

 

My view is the car is a good Euro/US mix. Benz drivetrain US "other" Have always preferred handling vs straight line performance (Lotus vs Mustang etc.). Not surprised at limited sales. Witness silly SUV behemoth's.