There comes a time in our lives when we have to trade in that muscle car for a family wagon. It's normally around the time those Levi's start to feel a little too snug, and when school runs replace quarter-mile runs. But while practicality may come first, that doesn't mean we have to give up completely. In the mid 2000s, a performance car manufacturer had the idea of combining a grocery getter with a full-blown muscle car, thus creating an oversized muscle wagon that could do the soccer pick-up in the week, and terrify everyone at the drag strip at the weekends. Who says you can't have your muscle car cake and eat it? The Muscle Wagon Has Long Been A Mom And Dad Hack Bring A Trailer It wasn't an entirely new idea, but the concept of a muscle wagon seemed to be slightly forgotten. Long before Porsche helped develop the T-5R, a rabid wagon that was a touring car for the road, and Audi released the RS2, a 315-horsepower version of its 80 Avant, American manufacturers were playing with the concept of big power and big trunks. The Vista Cruiser, a cushy family load-lugger from Oldsmobile, had a raft of changes and engine options in 1970, including a 310-horsepower, 350-ci version and a 400-ci big-block.For 1970 to 1972, GM also offered a 365-horsepower, big block 455-ci V8 as the top engine, packing 365 horsepower and around 500 lb-ft of torque, coupled to either two-speed Jetaway automatic or a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic being popular choices, with a rare four-speed floor-shift manual also available. Then there was the Chevrolet Kingswood Estate, an unlikely performance wagon that came with a 360-horsepower 454-cubic-inch LS5 V8. The Return Of The Muscle Car In The 2000s Brought Back The V8 Wagon Bring a Trailer As we all know, the muscle car golden era of the '60s came crashing down in the early '70s, with emissions regulations and an oil crisis canceling the horsepower war almost overnight. What followed were a line of worthless Malaise Era models which carried illustrious names of the past, albeit with detuned motors that were better suited to a ride-on lawn mower. It took a long time for American V8s to get back in their stride, showing some promise in the '90s with cars like the police-spec Impala SS, but it wasn't until the 2000s that the so-called second golden era arrived.Via: Dodge This was heralded by the S197 fifth-generation Ford Mustang and the sixth-generation LX Dodge Charger, arriving in 2005 and 2006 respectively. These no-nonsense retro-styled models offered a return to the good 'ol days of muscle. With the return of the blocky muscle coupe (and four-door in the case of the new Charger) came the idea that the muscle wagon could also be resurrected. It would be called the Dodge Magnum SRT8, and it was massive.The Magnum SRT8 wasn’t just fast, it was enormous. Stretching nearly 202 inches long, 75.7 inches wide (wider than a 2026 Mustang), and riding on a 120-inch wheelbase. With wide hips, a towering greenhouse, and a trunk that could swallow a weekend’s worth of groceries (or an extra 27-inch TV, if you wanted), this thing made people do a double take wherever it went. The 2006 Dodge Magnum SRT8 Brought Burnouts To Grocery Runs Bring a TrailerThe Dodge Magnum did a lot of things right straight from the outset. The Magnum had the same moniker as both a TV private investigator, and an intimidating gun (as well as an ice cream), so you certainly had one up when namedropping it outside the school gates. It looked good too, with chiseled, old-school muscle car looks (even if they didn't work quite as well in the lower spec model which rode lofty on high-wall tires).While the new Dodge wagon, which used a Charger platform and launched in 2005, could be specced with a 190 horsepower 2.7-liter six-pot, Dodge decided to create a "Magnum on Steroids" (their words, not ours) for the following year. “Street and Racing Technology (SRT) engineers began with a solid foundation-the 2006 Dodge Magnum -and successfully injected SRT DNA in order to produce a vehicle that can cover a quarter-mile in the mid-13-second range and haul home a brand-new 27-inch TV.” Again, Dodge's words not ours. The Magnum SRT8's Engine Is Pure Muscle Car Bring a TrailerThe new 6.1-liter SRT version of the legendary HEMI mill was inserted under the hood, with a classic orange-painted cylinder block and black valve covers and 420 horsepower and 425 lb-ft of torque. To increase displacement from 5.7 to 6.1 liters, SRT engineers bored out the diameter of the cylinders in the HEMI by 3.5 millimeters, and compression ratio was also increased to 10.3:1 from 9.6:1. Engine breathing was improved with new higher-flow cylinder heads, a specially designed intake manifold, and exhaust headers with individual tubes encased in a stainless steel shell.SRT added specially tailored spring rates and suspension bushings, and large-diameter anti-sway bars, as well as Brembo brakes all round. The ride height of the Magnum SRT8 is one-half inch lower than the Dodge Magnum, while the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) was specially tuned for the car. The Hemi motor was connected to a five-speed Mercedes-sourced auto transmission. The Magnum SRT8 Is A Quarter-Mile Monster Bring A TrailerThe Magnum really was a muscle car that could haul luggage, and ass at the drag strip. The Magnum SRT8, which was built at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, hits 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, 100 mph in 12.1 seconds, 0-100-0 mph in the mid-16-second range, and brakes from 60-0 mph in approximately 110 feet. Top speed is a heady 169 mph. Then there was that quarter mile time for this $37,995 wagon.The Magnum really did cover the quarter mile in the 13s, ticking the distance off in 13.5 seconds during an independent test. Pretty good for a 4,300-pound four-door wagon. That quarter mile time is not far off the 13.2 seconds for a Cadillac STS-V, and faster than a 2006 Dodge Charger R/T, equipped with the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine, which posts a 14.3 seconds time. A 2007 Mercedes-AMG E63 wagon will have the edge on the Magnum, with a quarter mile in 12.5 seconds, but that does have 507 horsepower and an $88,775 price tag when new. The Magnum Was A Short Lived Hero Wagon Dodge The Magnum SRT8 was a short-lived wildcard in the muscle car segment, only surviving from 2006 to 2008. Weirdly, Dodge even updated the Magnum the year before it was discontinued, suggesting that its cancellation was a quickly-made decision. Most likely the economic landscape of 2008 – that is the global economic crash – meant that carmakers were quickly trying to downsize lines to reduce costs, and the Magnum was a victim of this. Other factors include the quickly growing popularity of both SUVs and more specifically, fast SUVs, which were taking over the market. Even now, cars like the Mercedes E53 have the fast wagon landscape to themselves, and that is now powered by a turbocharged six rather than a V8. Here’s How Much A 2006 Dodge Magnum SRT8 Is Worth Today Bring a TrailerNowadays, the SRT8 stands out as something of an anomaly in the 2000s muscle car scene. It's fairly rare too, with fewer than 4000 produced, says Hagerty. The blend of Hemi V8 and the (still attractive) chunky wagon body has made this a cult hero, and the prices seem to match its growing modern classic status.No matter which year of SRT8 you choose, expect to pay $21,600 on average, according to Hagerty's valuation tool. That price may not stick, however, with experts such as Hagerty saying that it is one of the cars to buy right now, even going so far as to add it to its 2005 Bull Market list. With the future of big, naturally aspirated V8 muscle cars still in the balance, now could be a great time to buy one that caters for the whole family too.Sources: Hagerty.com.