FCA to ax Chrysler 300 SRT8, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 to eventually follow

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ decision to roll the SRT brand under the umbrella of Dodge will spell the end of the line for the Chrysler 300 SRT8, a new report finds.

With FCA now aligning Dodge as the company’s performance brand of choice, the SRT badge will exclusively adorn vehicles wearing the cross-hair grille. That leaves the Chrysler 300 on the outside looking in, with the SRT trim line set to be discontinued.

The exact funeral date for the 300 SRT8 is unknown at this time, but the high-performance variant is unlikely to survive the sedan’s impending refresh. Chrysler is expected to debut an updated version of the 300 at this November’s Los Angeles auto show.

Of course the news of the 300 SRT8′s untimely deaths begs one other question – what is to become of the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8?

According to Car and Driver, the Grand Cherokee SRT8′s sales are strong enough to warrant a stay of execution. In fact, the Grand Cherokee is SRT’s best-selling vehicle.

However, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 will eventually follow the 300 SRT8 to the automotive grave yard, it’s just a matter of when. The grand Cherokee is due for a refresh in late 2015, so FCA could pull the plug then. If the SRT8 model makes it past 2015, it almost certainly won’t survive the Grand Cherokee’s clean sheet update in 2017.

Fans of super fast SUV won’t be completely out of luck, though. Dodge is planning to introduce an SRT version of its Journey replacement in 2017.

Photo by Mark Elias.