The thing about a good thing, when it comes to cars, is that it’s hard to have too much of it. So when you’ve got a fantastic powerplant like the 6.2 liter supercharged V8 in the new Dodge Challenger Hellcat, you’ve got to spread the love around, right? Surely there are more uses for such an engine than just one muscle car…
You were already looking at the Charger, weren’t you? Dodge’s four-door muscle car lay squarely in the sights of the folks at SRT, and it’s probably no surprise that the Hellcat engine practically tumbled right in. The result is a four-door hot rod that adds a nice lens flare to Dodge’s 100th anniversary celebration.
If anything, the Charger SRT Hellcat, hitting the streets shortly as a 2015 model, is even more impressive than the Challenger. Performance sedans are somewhat less common than muscle-car coupes, and this one might just catch the experienced folks at BMW and Mercedes’ AMG division flat-footed. Flat-footing the Charger SRT’s 707-horsepower 6.2 liter supercharged HEMI V8 results in a 3.7 second 0-60 run, a quarter mile time of eleven seconds flat, and top speed is 204mph.
How do you say, “Holy crap!” in German?
The Charger SRT Hellcat is a performance monster, channeling 650 pound-feet of torque through an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s rear-wheel drive only, and the transmission features a rev-matching downshift feature, the better to put the power to the ground quickly and give the raucous Hellcat engine an excuse to snarl through the corners. Monstrous 15.4-inch Brembo brakes with two-piece rotors and six-piston calipers are used, and visible behind 20×9-inch wheels. A three-mode suspension enables tailoring of the ride. Just think of all the cars you could run down with three (possibly terrified) friends aboard!
Like the Challenger Hellcat, the Charger SRT Hellcat looks the part, with a tightened mesh grille, functional vented hood that shares style with the SRT Viper, and those monstrous wheels. The front splitter and rear spoiler have integrated aerodynamics to improve high-speed stability, and the subtle tweaks to the Charger’s styling for 2015 give the new car a coupelike profile.
The interior’s modified with racing-style seats and all of the options available on the surprisingly luxurious Charger, as well as a new optional sepia-tone leather interior.
The Charger SRT Hellcat’s goes on sale next spring. Pricing hasn’t yet been announced, but Dodge says it will be reasonable–which is saying something, considering that nothing else about this car is!
