The only fwd car I've ever wanted (new). GLHS, notwithstanding.
Photograph by Mary Kitz
It’s been nearly two decades since Dodge produced the Neon SRT-4. Despite a short three-year run, The SRT-4 made a mark in motorsport.
Doug Shepherd owns this SRT-4. If that name sounds familiar, you might know his father, Doug Shepherd. (For simplicity purposes, we’ll refer to the elder Shepherd as “Doug Sr.”) Doug Sr. was an incredible rally racer, winning 12 national championships as driver and 8 as a co-driver. Doug Sr. also knew a little bit about the SRT-4. He worked as an engineer for Chrysler. This car pays tribute to the one Doug Sr. ran back in 2003.
“There were a group of Chrysler engineers who were rally enthusiasts,” says Doug Jr. “There was some history of Dodge Motorsports providing support for rally in the 1980s. At an engineering management level, [they] were involved in the creation of the road-going SRT-4 and the rally version of it.”
Doug Shepherd, the junior. Photo by J.A. Ackley.
Doug Sr. passed that engineering and rallying spirit down to his son, although Doug Jr. doesn’t receive checks from the company best known for a stylized M.
“I actually work for General Motors,” says Doug. “I’m an assistant program engineering manager for autonomous vehicles. There’s a handful of GM employees doing this [rally] in our spare time, in a Dodge, a Mazda and a Volkswagen.”
Doug led the effort behind the creation of the tribute car.
Photo by J.A. Ackley.
“We started with a brand-new bare shell,” Doug says. “We had TRF [Thompson Racing Fabrication] put a roll cage in. The biggest differences from a road-going car are the suspension, with KW coil-overs, and underbody protection. The rear wheels are stock, but the fronts are Panasports. We’ve got a welded front differential and a special gear set in the transmission.
“The powertrain is mostly stock, with what were at the time upgrades available from Mopar. It’s got a bigger turbo, tuning, bigger fuel injectors. It’s basically making the fastest car available from the factory with what the available accessories were. You could go to Mopar or a Dodge dealership and order those parts.”
Photo by J.A. Ackley.
The NASA Rally Sport-sanctioned McCreary Gravel Rally in Kentucky marked Doug’s third-ever competitive event.
“I’m still learning the car, learning how to build speed,” says Doug. “[My father] told me just point it where you want it to go with moderate throttle application, and it will just go there, and there’s little fuss about it.”
Helping also with the effort was his co-driver, Chris LaBaere.
“This is his second event ever,” Doug says. “We were roommates at Michigan Tech. He does program management for transmissions [at GM]. He did a good job the first time he [co-drove]. We’re learning together and having a good time.”
Co-driver Chris LaBaere and driver Doug Shepherd. Photo by J.A. Ackley.
So how did these two rally rookies do in a car that pays tribute to a national rally legend? Second-place in the 2WD class of the Atlantic Rally Cup and a first in the NASA Rally Sport O2H class.
Not too shabby for two engineers just looking to have some fun in car that still holds its own more than 20 years later.
Photo by J.A. Ackley.
[For more SRT-4 content, check out one of our past project cars here]
The only fwd car I've ever wanted (new). GLHS, notwithstanding.
In reply to Appleseed :
I had a base model 2001 Dodge Neon as my first car that wasn't a hand-me-down. It was okay. I can only imagine the difference between that and the SRT-4.
This is kind of amazing given how few Neon SRT4s were made and beaten to dust. There was recently a thread about how rare Neons are in general. They are a motorsport legend in that I don't think many know how much they dominated racing series.
I worked inside the Dodge Motorsport/SRT department around the time of Doug Sr era. Focused more on a potential 2nd Gen Neon super touring car and remember having a look at the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen rally car belts and cage arrangements to gather any lessons learned. There was another internal to company rally racer that I will have to try and dig up his information.
I started autocross, rallycross, ice racing and then SCCA IT racing all in Neons!!!
In reply to Advan046 :
Kind of my thoughts - SRT-4s are getting rarer and rarer it seems. Thanks for sharing the perspective!
Chris Greenhouse is still keeping the torch lit, with his badass rally SRT-4.
I had the pleasure of crewing for a stage rally team that Chris was navigating for (I also met Wally that weekend) and we were talking about his SRT-4 and he said to me, and I paraphrase slightly, "I don't race that car because I'm a Dodge diehard. I race that car because I think it's the best platform for what I'm doing. If there was a better car, I'd be racing that."
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
It's gotten to the point where an SRT-4 catches my attention quicker than some supercars...
I have no idea where they all went, I have only ever seen one in the junkyard but they were only ever a common sight on the road for about 5 years after they were sold. My dad still has his first gen ACR, it's very worn out at this point but he still drives it all the time.
NickD said:Chris Greenhouse is still keeping the torch lit, with his badass rally SRT-4.
I had the pleasure of crewing for a stage rally team that Chris was navigating for (I also met Wally that weekend) and we were talking about his SRT-4 and he said to me, and I paraphrase slightly, "I don't race that car because I'm a Dodge diehard. I race that car because I think it's the best platform for what I'm doing. If there was a better car, I'd be racing that."
When I rallycrossed with him, he campaigned a single cam first generation Neon. He said, paraphrased, more power would be nice, but first I want to find myself needing it. (I probably butchered that all to hell, it's been like 15 years)
Clearly he felt he needed it, since then 
I still recall getting to ride in his stage Neon on a fast/rough rallycross course. He was running DMS suspension at the time, I think, and my mind was blown at how well controlled the suspension was. You can do a lot with only 150hp if you don't have to mind the chassis.
It's a good platform for rally. Stone simple and it works. Maybe it could use more front suspension travel, but what front wheel drive car doesn't? The front suspension and the transaxle were both light years better than the VWs that were popular. And every Neon came with a sixteen valve 2 liter.
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