This Dodge takes Charge-r

Into this eco-minded age of milquetoast hybrid and electric vehicles, the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 comes roaring back to life sporting a honking-big V-8 engine and a serious case of nose-thumbing attitude.

Consider this big family sedan a 21-gun salute to a bygone era when full-size North American family sedans could be optioned with a surplus of tire-smoking grunt that made their normally buttoned-down drivers smile gleefully from ear to ear while the neighbors simply ran for cover.

The Charger is no anomaly, but part of a family of SRT8-branded vehicles for the 2012 model year that also includes the Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Jeep Grand Cherokee. They form what is one of the widest arrays of all-out performance machinery available anywhere.

Compared to the previous SRT8, this one bares its teeth in a more menacing fashion. The basic Charger underwent a 2011 refit that gave it a sleeker and more aggressive look, improved road manners and a new base V-6. The SRT8 expands on this theme with a distinctive blacked-out mesh grille and unique hood that directs hot air from the engine compartment. In back, a set of 4-inch-diameter exhaust tips protrude from beneath the bumper. Perhaps the most obvious SRT8 feature is its very distinctive 20-inch (and 9-inch-wide) polished aluminum wheels that really set this beast apart from mainstream Chargers. Overall the SRT8's more exaggerated appearance is totally in keeping with the sedan's potent capabilities.

The Dodge's actual potency has been significantly enhanced for 2012. The previous 2010 SRT8 (a 2011 version was never offered) generated 425 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque from a 6.1-liter "Hemi" V-8. What's now being served up is a 6.4-liter (392-cubic-inch) Hemi that serves up a whopping 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. What's more, a significant amount of that torque now kicks in below the 3,000-rpm range to help enhance the car's off-the-line scoot.

The SRT's development team will brag that the chunky 4,365-pound Charger can hustle to 60 mph from a dead stop in "the high four-second range" and is capable of a 175-mph top speed.

To haul the big, bad Dodge down in a hurry, there are front and rear Brembo-brand four-piston brake calipers and a special underbody ducting that helps keeps the brakes cooler and more fade-resistant.

Directing all that power to the rear wheels is a five-speed automatic transmission that can be shifted manually using the console-placed Auto Stick, or with the new-for-2012 flappy-paddle shifters attached to the steering wheel.

To try and keep the SRT8's premium gas habit with an acceptable range, the engine comes with an enhanced version of Chrysler's deactivation technology that now cuts out half of the cylinders over a wider rpm range for an estimated 25 percent increase in highway fuel economy (about 24 mpg).

On the road, the SRT8 makes its presence known with an active exhaust system that sings an unmistakable exhaust tune under hard acceleration, but keeps the noise down in cruise mode.

The inside is also a quiet and comfortable place with well-bolstered front seats covered in soft leather with perforated heated and ventilated suede inserts for maximum posterior grip. In addition, the full-color information display is part of a reshaped dashboard. Its features include timers that can compute zero-to-60 mph plus one-eighth and quarter-mile times, 60 mph-to-zero distances and both lateral and longitudinal g-forces (acceleration, stopping and cornering). It might seem out of place, or even ridiculous, but there's an "eco" light that indicates when the SRT is in the state using the least amount of fuel possible. Just in case you were wondering.

For added passenger entertainment, the SRT8 comes with a premium Harmon Kardon sound system that resonates through a total of 19 speakers (including five subwoofers).

Needless to say, the $42,000 (estimated) SRT8's performance and creature comforts would amaze its Hemi Charger ancestors. That a car like this even exists in this day and age is perhaps the most amazing fact of all.