What year did the Dodge SRT come out?
The Dodge SRT program began in 2002, and the first production SRT model—the Dodge SRT-4 Neon—arrived for the 2003 model year.
Origins of the SRT program
The Street & Racing Technology (SRT) initiative was created by Chrysler to develop high-performance variants across its Dodge, Ram, and Viper lines. Below are key milestones that mark the birth and early expansion of the SRT brand.
- 2002 — The SRT program is established to produce purpose-built performance variants across Chrysler brands.
- 2003 — Dodge releases the first production SRT-badged model: the SRT-4 Neon, signaling the official market entry of the SRT badge.
- 2003–2004 — Early SRT offerings expand to include high-performance variants such as the Viper SRT-10 and, soon after, the Ram SRT-10, demonstrating the breadth of the SRT lineup.
These milestones show how SRT evolved from a focused engineering program into a broader performance brand spanning multiple Dodge and Ram products, as well as the Viper performance line.
First production Dodge SRT models
Early vehicles bearing the SRT badge
Here is a concise look at the earliest production models that carried the SRT badge and helped establish its reputation for power and agility.
- Dodge SRT-4 Neon — introduced for the 2003 model year as the first production SRT car.
- Viper SRT-10 — the high-performance version of the Viper that carried the SRT designation starting in the early 2000s.
- Ram SRT-10 — a performance-oriented pickup powered by a Viper V10, part of the early expansion of the SRT family.
These early models set the template for SRT’s blend of track-ready capability with everyday usability, a hallmark of the brand’s approach to performance.
Summary
The Dodge SRT program officially launched in 2002, with the first production SRT model—the Dodge SRT-4 Neon—arriving for the 2003 model year. Over the following years, SRT expanded across Dodge, Ram, and Viper vehicles, building a legacy of high-performance variants that continued to evolve through the 2010s.
