SRT Dodge Charger Hellcat May Arrive This Fall
Dodge shocked the world earlier this week when it revealed that the Hellcat V8 makes 707 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque that are slated to appear later this year in a Challenger near you.
Mated to either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic, the beastly creation even tops some of the world’s most expensive supercars in power. But while the world was busy this week picking their jaws up at the thought of a Challenger that might actually be capable of challenging other American pony cars in something other than nostalgic appeal, something was forgotten. There’s at least one more car that Chrysler plans to amp up using its hot-rod Hellcat engine: the Charger.
SEE ALSO: Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Makes 707 HP
The company hasn’t made any announcements about when the Hellcat Charger will arrive, but earlier this year during its massive investor conference where it announced its next five years of product plans it confirmed that the Charger will be sold with its supercharged V8.
At the time, it promised the refreshed Challenger would arrive in July with no explicit admission that the Hellcat V8 would be a part of that launch. In the same presentation, Dodge promised its revised Charger would show up in October. Given the way Dodge played the Challenger and the fact that all of the necessary equipment is available, it would be nothing short of predictable to guess that a 707-hp Hellcat-powered Charger is right around the corner, albeit probably only with the eight-speed automatic rather than the six-speed manual offered with the Challenger.
What’s exciting about that is the fact that Chrysler will have a rear-wheel drive sedan that will have almost the same torque as high-brow super limos like the S63 AMG and way more horsepower. Here’s hoping Dodge has something scary to take the kids trick-or-treating in by this Halloween.
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Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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As a past owner of a `68, `69 and a 73 charger, I still can't get past the 4 doors on these newer chargers. How many times have you seen anybody get out of the back doors. I don't know if I ever have! I also think the taller but scruntched look of the front and the rear is not a very attractive look. And now you have removed the hideous front cross hair look in favor of making it look like an Audi, Volkswagen or Dart. I have always been a dodge guy but if I were Dodge, I would find some designers that could make this car turn heads. I would give this new charger about a 5 on a scale of 10. Why shouldn't it be a ten?
I LOVE more HP, but at what point does it mean anything when the TIRES are so narrow that all of that HP is dialed back by the PCM's torque management to prevent the tires from spinning?? The new Mustang GT's are a perfect example of this. Here you have over 415hp in a 3400 pound car and yet I still have not had one beat me in my worn out 2007 SRT8 Charger that only has 425HP and weighs 4200 pounds. The reason is I can hook up with my 295/35/20 Michelin Pilots in the back while they sit there spinning their tires. It's hilarious to see the look on their faces as a 4200 pound 4 door family sedan blows their doors off. A guy at work just traded his new 2014 Mustang GT in for a 2014 Ram after I beat him 3 times in a row! He was so PISSED at Ford's torque management system! It never failed I would get the jump on him off the line and he would panic and spin his tires. The torque management program would take over and it would be over. That's at the drag strip. I've done the same thing on the twisties where as soon as the Mustang detects a little side ways action the traction control kicks in and I blow on by. Will the Hellcats be plagued by the same torque/traction management controls that prevent the Mustang from performing?