New Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa isn’t wasting time. He’s shaking up the automaker’s executive ranks – the latest move seeing Ram boss Tim Kuniskis expand his roll to include North American Marketing and Retail Strategy – while also reviving the old Street and Racing Technology division better known simply as SRT. More from Headlight.News.
Tim Kuniskis last month revealed that Ram will be returning to NASCAR.
When Tim Kuniskis was lured back to Stellantis back in December, after a brief retirement, it was apparent to many observers that things were about to get shaken up at Stellantis. And that’s become all the more apparent since Antonio Filosa was named global CEO last month.
The Italian-born Filosa has wasted precious little time reshaping the troubled automaker, announcing a variety of key management changes leading up to the new assignment for Kuniskis who will serve as head of North America Marketing and Retail Strategy while retaining his role with Ram.
Add to the latest announcements made on Wednesday the revival of the once influential Street and Racing Technology division, better known by its initials, SRT, which was responsible for some of the wildest products ever to emerge from the company, including the original Dodge Viper and the quirky Plymouth Prowler.
Singing a new tune
The second-generation Viper was marketed through the short-lived SRT brand.
“We’re getting the band back together,” Kuniskis said in a statement on Wednesday. “SRT is another box we needed to check as we head into a product launch cadence enabling more performance than we’ve ever seen before. We’re working with our product development and technology organization to select the best engineers in powertrain and vehicle dynamics to build a team worthy of the SRT name.”
Exactly when SRT was formed is a matter of some debate. By one account it was formed back in 1989 as “Team Viper,” when Dodge began work on the original Viper roadster. Various iterations followed, including “Team Prowler” and “Performance Vehicle Operations.” The SRT badge itself didn’t appear until 2004, however. In its heyday, the division produced high-performance products for not only Dodge but the Jeep and Chrysler brands, as well.
Along with Viper and Prowler, the unit came up with extreme versions of products including the Dodge Neon, Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee. In 2012 it was designated a standalone brand but, two years later wound up rolled back into Dodge.
What will SRT do now
The SRT badge from a Jeep Hellcat.
Will SRT will regain its own identity, the goal is to “deliver vehicles that push the boundaries of power, aerodynamics, handling and technology, on both the street and the track, ensuring enthusiasts get the power, precision and passion they expect,” the Stellantis statement explained.
While specific plans weren’t released, it appears likely that SRT will come up with new performance packages for the various North American-based Stellantis brands. It’s unclear whether it will work with some of the European brands, such as Alfa-Romeo, Fiat and Maserati, as well.
SRT also will oversee the Direct Connection performance parts brand and North American motorsports programs. That includes Ram’s return to NASCAR which Kuniskis announced last month.
More Stellantis News
- The Stellantis Shake-Up Accelerates as Kuniskis Returns
- Ram Returns to NASCAR
- Filosa Named New Stellantis CEO
The ideas man
Kuniskis (r) delivered the first of a limited-run of Dodge muscle cars to comedian Jay Leno at the August 2023 Woodward Dream Cruise.
Pushed into retirement by former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, the return of Tim Kuniskis late last year won widespread praise. The hyper-energetic 58-year-old gets a newly created role as what one might call the corporate ideas man, a source familiar with Kuniskis, suggested.
“Tim has proven time and time again that he is masterful at building brands that reach the heart and soul of the customer,” Filosa said. “We will leverage his energy, his strategic mindset and his competitive spirit to supercharge all our brand activities.”
Kuniskis also will run SRT while retaining his position at Ram. He’s entering the new jobs – plural – with lots of momentum, the truck brand finishing the second quarter with an upturn in sales after a lengthy slide. And its entering the July – September quarter on a positive not. It has been inundated with advance orders for the Ram 1500 pickup with the newly revived Hemi V-8 that was one of the many announcements the brand made last month.
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