The SRT Durango is here — and it’s awesome by Patrick Rall on

After ages of speculation and rumors, the SRT Durango will finally debut later today at the Chicago Auto Show. I was fortunate enough to check the SRT Durango out in advance, and as a fellow Mopar fan who has long been hoping to see a proper high performance Dodge SUV, I believe that this is the Durango that the Mopar community has been hoping to see for so many years.

As you might expect, the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT will share a drivetrain with the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, starting with the 392 cubic inch Hemi. This mill delivers 475 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels via a quick-shifting 8-speed automatic transmission and a high tech all-wheel drive system, allowing the big SUV to make the most of every bit of power. Also, with the 2.75 inch exhaust system fitted with 4 inch exhaust tips, the 6.4L SRT Hemi offers the type of tone that you would expect from the fastest and quickest 3-row SUV in America.

The SRT Durango is lightning-quick in a straight line, but thanks to the addition of a huge Brembo braking package (6-piston/15” fronts, 4-piston/13.8” rears) and a revised suspension setup featuring the same adaptive, adjustable dampers from the other SRT vehicles, this big SUV will blast through the curves as well.

Finally, and most importantly to some buyers, the SRT Durango offers the same copious amounts of cargo space as the non-SRT Durango models, along with an even greater towing capacity. The same SRT Durango that will run a 12.90 quarter mile will tow 8,600 pounds, so you could conceivably tow your Mopar muscle car to the track, drop the trailer and race both your Durango SRT and your Mopar muscle car.

In addition to being fast and capable, the SRT Durango has a sporty exterior design that is similar to the SRT Charger. This begins with the twin vented hood and a hood scoop, a unique mesh grille, a new slim air intake slot in the middle of the fascia and a huge lower fascia opening. There is also a new air intake duct system which helps feed cooler air intake the Hemi engine for improved performance in any situation.

Finally, like all SRT vehicles, the 2018 SRT Durango will have a loaded interior with heated, leather bucket seats in the first two rows, and smaller bucket seats in the third row. The SRT cabin also includes the newest UConnect infotainment system with an 8.4” touchscreen in the dash and a 7” adjustable driver information center.

The 2018 SRT Durango is aggressively designed on the outside, it has loaded interior and it has a high tech drivetrain which makes it the toughest and fastest 3-row SUV inn America. While there will be some people who now insist that this Durango should have packed a Hellcat Hemi – this is the SRT Durango we have all been hoping for and it will be available in dealerships in the fourth quarter of this year.

You can see the video and read all about the finer details of the 2018 Dodge Durango SRT in our full piece by clicking here.

Patrick Rall was raised a Mopar boy, spending years racing a Dodge Mirada while working his way through college. After spending a few years post-college in the tax accounting field, Patrick made the jump to the world of journalism and his work has been published in magazines and websites around the world.