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2013 Dart: Dodge Enters Global RallyCross

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#1 ·
Taking Passion for Performance to New Heights — Dodge Enters Global RallyCross With All-new Dodge Dart and Travis Pastrana
Dodge and SRT Motorsports Announce Global RallyCross Championship Entry With Dodge Dart Piloted by Four-time Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana





March 26, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Dodge and SRT Motorsports announced today an all-new 2013 Dodge Dart rally car piloted by four-time Rally America Champion and 17-time X Games Gold Medalist Travis Pastrana will compete in the 2012 Global RallyCross Championship (GRC) Series.

“At Dodge, racing is an integral part of our heritage and embodies our competitive spirit, so we’re very excited to announce the next chapter in racing for Dodge with our all-new Dodge Dart,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO - Dodge Brand. “The new Dart Global RallyCross Championship car with 600 horsepower and driver Travis Pastrana takes our passion for performance to all new heights.”

Pastrana, 28, is a four-time Rally America champion and owner of multiple supercross and motorcross championships. He also owns Nitro Circus, an empire that includes a television show, live tours and 3D feature film project. Pastrana is one of the most searched athletes in the world (6 million Google searches in 2010) and he has more than 3.5 million Facebook followers.

“When I first heard about GRC, I was really interested, and after watching some of the rounds last year and then actually competing at X Games I was hooked!” said Pastrana. “Now to be able to partner with Dodge to field my own program this year is a dream come true. The new Dodge Dart offers the perfect platform for rally cross, and I look forward to putting it on the podium all season long!”

Ralph Gilles, President and CEO – Street and Racing Technology Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC, said that having Pastrana piloting a Dodge Dart and competing in GRC is a natural fit.

“Travis is a living example of what action sports activities are all about, so he fits in perfectly with the youthfulness and passion for performance of the Dodge brand and the SRT Motorsports team,” said Gilles. “He’s proven that he can handle just about anything with wheels, so it’s going to be great to watch him pilot our new Dodge Dart in Global RallyCross.”

The Dart rally car is custom built specifically for Global RallyCross racing, but shares a few traits with the production Dodge Dart. Both vehicles have exceptional aerodynamics, are agile and fun to drive and will add a little excitement to their segments. Powered by a purpose-built, 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder, 16-valve turbo-charged 600-horsepower engine mated to a Sedav 4-wheel drive gear box that puts out more than 550 lb.-ft. of torque, the Dart rally car is ready to go.

The 2013 production Dodge Dart features three state-of-the-art powertrains that produce up to 184 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque and a sporty, fun-to-drive experience. The Dart features an athletic, sporty exterior, a world-class interior with high-quality materials, state-of-the art technology and enough exterior and interior color and material choices to fit any customer.

David Bailey, Senior Engineering Manager for SRT Motorsports, knows the new Dodge Dart rally car is equipped to handle the intense racing conditions.

“The sport is extremely exciting and the on-track action can be brutal on the drivers and the cars,” said Bailey. “The cars are jumping higher than ever and landing safely. The Dart rally car is lightweight with a very powerful motor. The zero to 60 mile-per-hour times are incredible, as low as 1.9 seconds, so with Travis behind the wheel, we can’t wait for the season opener.”

Global RallyCross is a spin-off of the X Games rally races. It combines the skill of rally racing with the excitement of X Games. The revolutionary motorsports series enters its second season and features high-flying extreme competition between cars that are relevant to today’s youth. The series consists of seven racing events in closed-course rally tracks and incorporates bumper-to-bumper competition among 600 horsepower all-wheel drive vehicles. There are 70-foot jumps over racing traffic, creating a “motocross with cars” action.

The series begins May 26 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and concludes Sept. 29 in Las Vegas. Also included are races at X Games scheduled for June 30-July 1 in Los Angeles. It’s one of the most anticipated stops on the schedule. The ESPN family of channels will broadcast live coverage of the entire 2012 race series.

2012 Global RallyCross Race Schedule:

May 26 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 10 – Texas Motor Speedway
June 30 – X Games, Los Angeles
July 1 – X Games, Los Angeles
July 14 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 1 – TBD
Sept. 29 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway


About Dodge Dart
The new Dodge Dart hits the mark with a modern, unmistakable Dodge design which features great exterior proportions and unmistakable Dodge cues like the “racetrack” taillamps and signature front grille. The exterior not only looks good, but delivers world class aerodynamic performance and an agile, fun-to-drive experience on the road. The Dart is the first Chrysler Group vehicle built on Fiat Group architecture; it’s based off of the award-winning Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Interior comfort and style are on target for drivers and passengers with a modern blend of precision craftsmanship, exciting bursts of color and more interior roominess than some mid-size sedans. The new Dodge Dart offers drivers thousands of ways to personalize their car with 12 exterior colors, 14 interior color and trim combinations, 3 fuel-efficient engines, 3 transmissions, 6 wheel choices and 5 trim levels. Dart customers can choose a vehicle that fits their personality without sacrificing comfort or value. The all-new 2013 Dodge Dart offers the interior room of some mid-size sedans, class-leading safety, state-of-the-art technology and unmistakable style starting at a U.S. MSRP of just $15,995 (excluding destination).

About Dodge Brand
For nearly 100 years, Dodge has defined passionate and innovative vehicles that stand apart in performance and in style. Building upon its rich heritage of muscle cars, racing technology and ingenious engineering, Dodge offers a full-line of cars, crossovers, minivans and SUVs built for top performance – from power off the line and handling in the corners, to high-quality vehicles that deliver unmatched versatility and excellent fuel efficiency. Only Dodge offers such innovative functionality combined with class-leading performance, exceptional value and distinctive design. With the all-new 2013 Dodge Dart, the all-new Dodge Charger paired with the ZF eight-speed transmission that achieves a class-leading 31 miles per gallon on the highway, the new Durango and the significantly revamped Grand Caravan – inventor of the minivan – Journey, Avenger and iconic Challenger, Dodge now has one of the youngest dealer showrooms in the United States.

About SRT Motorsports
The engineering expertise within SRT extends well beyond our street vehicles. It is a little known fact, but technical support for the Chrysler Group's motorsports programs is provided by the astute engineers at SRT. Lessons learned on the track directly translate to improved vehicles for our customers. SRT Motorsports is expanding its racing presence this year, so follow us throughout the 2012 season for more news from pit lane.

About Travis Pastrana
Pastrana, 28, owns multiple supercross and motocross championships and four Rally America championships. He is also known for his Nitro Circus empire, which includes a TV show, live tours and a soon-to-be-released 3D feature film.

About Global RallyCross Championship
Global RallyCross Championship is the owner and organizer of the GRC racing series and manages invitations and competition for X Games rally events. The company brings the excitement of rallycross racing to hundreds of thousands of event attendees and millions of households in more than 150 countries in 2012.
 
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#2 ·


Mar 26, 2012

Dodge and SRT Motorsports announced today an all-new 2013 Dodge Dart rally car piloted by four-time Rally America Champion and 17-time X Games Gold Medalist Travis Pastrana will compete in the 2012 Global RallyCross Championship (GRC) Series. Presenters include Reid Bigland, President and CEO, Dodge Brand, Ralph Gilles, President and CEO, SRT Brand and Motorsports and Travis Pastrana, four-time Rally America Champion.
 
#3 ·
Dodge Dart RallyCross: 0-100km/h in 1.9 seconds

March 28th, 2012



A mental 447kW RallyCross version of the new 2013 Dodge Dart will sprint from 0-100km/h in a space-time continuum-disturbing 1.9 seconds.



The all-business Dodge Dart has been put together by Dodge and SRT Motorsports to compete in the Global RallyCross Championships in the US. The only man alive crazy enough to jump in the driver’s seat, four-time Rally America Champion and 17-time X Games gold medallist, Travis Pastrana, will be behind the wheel.

The SRT Dodge Dart is motivated by a heavily re-worked version of the 137kW/231Nm factory 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine fettled to churn out 600hp (447kW) with a Sedav four-wheel drive set-up left to deal with the 745Nm of torque.

While the new production Dodge Dart may be the spiritual successor to the original 1960s Dart, the left-hand-drive small sedan is the first vehicle developed under the new Fiat-Chrysler partnership and is based on the Alfa Romeo Guilietta platform.

The Global RallyCross Championship debuted at X Games 16 in 2010 and is a motorsport melting pot that combines circuit racing, off-road racing and rally into one format.

Competition in the series won’t be easy for either car or driver with other confirmed entrants for the 2012 series including 2011 Global RallyCross champion and three-time X Games Rally gold medallist Tanner Foust, two-time World Rally champion Marcus Grönholm, 2011 X Games Rally gold medallist Liam Doran, Formula Drift champion Rhys Millen, BMX legend Dave Mirra, and world-renowned slide-king Ken Block.

Although the image released is just a rendering the SRT Dodge Dart will make its official public debut at the New York motor show next month. Chrysler has previously indicated to CarAdvice that if right-hand-drive versions of the road-going Dart were made, it would certainly consider them for our market.

The first race of the Global RallyCross Championship will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on May 26. Good darts.


SOURCE
 
#4 ·


Apr 4, 2012

Check out this exciting video of Travis Pastrana putting his new Dodge Dart Global RallyCross entry through its paces at an undisclosed location. The test was his first opportunity to learn what the 600hp, all-wheel drive Dart racer can do in preparation for the Global RallyCross series, which opens May 26 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
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