Sedan Ramblings - Reviews, comparisons and all things sedans

Fast Sedans and the Great American Dream
Dodge Spirit R/T and Pontiac Grand Prix GTP (22/08/02)

by Traian Popescu

If you take a quick peek at the list of fast sedans on the main page, you'll notice that the three Teutons - Audi, BMW and Mercedes - make up roughly a quarter of it, notwithstanding all their various tuners. Other European and Japanese marques largely occupy the remaining spots. As for the American firms, most of their models were never even available in North America! So, to redeem this site and spruce it up with a bit of domestic (assuming you live in North America) iron, there will be absolutely no direct mention of any foreign automobiles in this article! A few months back the Ford Taurus SHO was featured in Sedan Ramblings and here now are two even more potent examples of Detroit machinery; not world's fastest material but impressive sedans nonetheless: the Dodge Spirit R/T and Pontiac Grand Prix GTP.

The Dodge Spirit is not an exciting car. The Spirit was introduced in 1989 as a replacement to the Reliant, destined to life as a reliable non-assuming four-door appliance. Compared to the sleek Ford Taurus, the Spirit was downright dull indeed, and its 93hp 2.5L four didn't do much to help matters. You can therefore imagine the public's surprise when in 1991, the reliable 93hp appliance was transformed into a 224 horsepower screamer, capable of outrunning every other American four dour sedan that year, with a design worryingly similar to the base car's.

The engine was a 2.2-litre unit, featuring a four-valve-per-cylinder head jointly designed with Lotus (a program dating back to 1984), twin counter-rotating balance shafts, dual overhead cams and an intercooled Garret turbocharger limited to 11psi of boost. The result of this hardware is a smooth 224 hp at 6000 rpm and 217 lb-ft of torque at 2800, with a 6500-rpm redline. All that power is the routed to the front wheels through an A568 five-speed manual transmission and sends the R/T down the tarmac to 60 mph in between 5.8 and 6.8 seconds (not a very precise figure, granted, but a low-to-mid 6 second estimate would probably be accurate). With a quarter mile run of under 15 seconds, the R/T is fast enough to worry many sedans that cost far, far more than its $18,000 base price, including a certain Motorsport variant of a certain mid-size Bavarian sedan.

The shifter is a little balky and the clutch action is heavy and not very smooth, but overall it's no worse than an SHO. There's very little power at the low end, but at about 2500 rpm the turbo spools up and you can finally experience the dark side. To get decent handling while maintaining a comfy ride, the Spirit ES suspension is modified with increased spring rates and front valving, performance-oriented rear shocks, 70mm progressive-rate front jounce bumpers, and a 29 mm rear sway bar, on top of 205/60R15 Michelin XGTV4 tires. Total production for the Spirit R/T amounted to 1208 units in 1991 and 191 cars the following year (when it was discontinued) so finding one could prove a little difficult, but expect to pay no more than about $7000 for a quality example.

Fast forward a decade and the current hot-sedan torchbearer would have to be the Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. It's perhaps not as purpose-built as its cross-town forbear (and not as fast, either) but then again there are few other ways to go this fast without a fuel-sucking V8 (although the V6 doesn't exactly sip the stuff either), a cramped interior, rear wheel drive and a $25,000+ base price. $24,200 buys you GM's deathless 3.8-litre supercharged OHV V6 with its 240 horsepower at 5200rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 3200. That, along with sub-7 second 0-60 mph runs is all nice and good, but when you really get the urge sometimes you just have to splurge.

Enter SLP Engineering of Troy, Michigan and their ready-to-wear line-up of mojo-packet Pontiacs, one of which is the GTP-based GTX. Just send your Pontiac to SLP and in a few weeks your hot-rodded 'Prix will be redelivered to your dealership, ready to drive off into the sunset. GM covers cars from SLP under the same 3-year warranty as the off-the-shelf Pontiacs. The car's total cost, complete with the SLP treatment surcharge, even qualifies for GMAC financing!

If in a fit of overwhelmed passion you managed to check all the option boxes, your GTX will feature the Ram Air Package, including a twin-air-scooped hood design as on the 1995 Grand Prix 300 GPX show car, an upgraded forced air induction system with a new air box and K&N filter, and a bunch of pretty badges. Add the cat-back dual-tipped stainless steel exhaust system, and your sedan will be good for 20 horsepower over the original. You will also receive new footwear in the form of 6-spoke chrome aluminium wheels wrapped in P235/55ZR17 laces and a few frivolous items such as stripes, spoilers and mats. Come next week, expect a $6000 tab on the ol' Master Card.

The GTP gives a less-than-stellar firm ride and often misbehaves with a bit of fuzzy torque steer, but overall it is one of the quickest, best handling, shortest stopping American sedans, despite its front-drive layout. If this is what you are looking for, then surely you've stopped reading at the thought of sub-7 second 60mph passes and are furiously signing papers as we speak. If it's not, then just take a look at all the fastest 4-door European and Japanese sedans listed on the main page. But make sure you're checkbook is loaded!

© Traian Popescu , World's Fastest Sedans (http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/), 2002.

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