GR8SRT8; There's nothing vain about Chrysler's throwback hot rod.(Auto File)

For those who need to be noticed, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 ain't the car for you. Better stick with something flashier, like a Lamborghini, or inyerface, like the car-crushing Gravedigger. Most SRT8 owners have noted the car's sleeper qualities only add to the modern-day hot rod's appeal.

And what a hot rod. At the track the 300C SRT8 proves not only fast, but also much nimbler than its 4160-pound, slab-sided figure might suggest.

In a straight line its monster 6.1-liter 425-horse Hemi V8 throws down so much power that, absent a judicious use of the right pedal, the tires are apt to disintegrate in a cloud of sublimated rubber. Establishing the quickest times requires nothing more than stepping off the brake and mashing the gas; no revving before launch is necessary and in fact, only exacerbates the wheel spin.

We managed our fastest 0-to-60-mph time of 5.24 seconds early on, with subsequent runs dropping off as the engine heated up. Cool-down laps would bring the speeds back up and the times back down.

But with so much tire spin off the line, the SRT8 only achieves its fastest form in the quarter-mile, where it screams by the timing lights in 13.66 seconds at 105.4 mph. That is only slightly off the Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG we tested (Nov. 8, 2004), at 13.54 seconds at 105.9 mph, and quicker than the Cadillac CTS-V's 13.76 seconds at 105.5 mph (May 10, 2004). The SRT8 beats its plebeian stablemate, the Hemi-powered 300C (Oct. 4, 2004), by 0.85 second and 7.4 mph.

Lest the 300C SRT8 makes you think it likes nothing better than the drag strip, it takes to the slalom like few in its class. For one, it possesses superb body roll control; the car slaloms almost flat. And handling is spot-on. "You can really toss it around and easily recover it,'' comments one tester. The SRT8 produces a tremendous amount of grip and displays crisp, predictable steering, the combination of which results in little lag between steering input and tire response.

To compare, the Chrysler's 44.6-mph slalom speed soundly bests the C55 and its 44.1-mph run; the Infiniti M45 gets a bit closer ...