2015 Dodge Challenger (including Hellcat)
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,018
Likes: 0
From: CA™
We've reached the final day of 2014 SEMA Week brought to you by 76, and only we would dare to bring this ridiculous mix of vehicles together for a grudge race on an unprepped airport runway. Fred Williams, Jessi Lang, Mike Sabounchi and Mike Finnegan begged and bribed SEMA Show exhibitors to loan them vehicles for a ¼ mile drag race and, though Finnegan and Sabounchi failed, the group still managed to acquire a Jeep riding on tank treads, a fresh-off-the-floor 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, the infamous Hemi-powered ’55 Chevy Bel Air from Roadkill, and a turbocharged 2013 Chevy Sonic to do battle.
The racers are as different as the cars. Finnegan lives in the world of hot rods, Lang regularly pilots the best the OEM carmakers have to offer, Williams spends all of his time in the dirt, and Sabounchi hops up every compact car on the planet. Who will come out on top? Watch and find out!
The racers are as different as the cars. Finnegan lives in the world of hot rods, Lang regularly pilots the best the OEM carmakers have to offer, Williams spends all of his time in the dirt, and Sabounchi hops up every compact car on the planet. Who will come out on top? Watch and find out!
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,204
Likes: 11
From: The Woodlands, TX
Highway to Hell(cat): Owner wrecks 707-hp Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat one hour after
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...es-in-colorado
You knew it was bound to happen, sooner or later.
We just didn’t think it would be THAT soon.
When Dodge announced the $60,000 Challenger SRT Hellcat and Charger SRT Hellcat earlier this year – with 707 horsepower motors that make them the most powerful stock muscle cars on the streets of America today – it was almost inevitable what might happen when someone would push one to … and past … its limits.
Unfortunately, a motorist in Colorado found that lesson out the hard way, according to a great story on MotorAuthority.com.
The Challenger has only been in dealer showrooms for about a month.
This is where the story gets, as Arte Johnson used to say on the 1960s TV show “Laugh In,” “Veerrrryyyy interesting.”
So, apparently an unnamed individual walks into a dealer’s showroom, signs on the dotted line and drives off with a brand new, bright neon lime green Challenger Hellcat.
The proud new owner’s beautiful car lasted about an hour, according to MotorAuthority’s Viknesh Vijayenthiran, whose work we always enjoy.
Check out Viknesh’s original story at MotorAuthority.com.
Details about the identity of the owner or where exactly the crash occurred in the Mile-High state are sketchy.
But the above picture tells 1,000 words.
No, make that 10,000 words — and half of those are probably the owner cussing himself out.
From what MotorAuthority.com surmised, the driver lost control, “skidded off the road near a bend and crashed head-on into a tree.”
Thankfully, the report said, no one was seriously injured.
(Well, at least that proves how crash-worthy the new Hellcats are, right?)
The same can’t be said about the car, which is apparently a total loss. Like Humpty Dumpty, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men – and probably the best mechanics and body shops in the biz – can’t put Humpty Hellcat back together again.
Considering a Hellcat has just about 40 less horsepower than a 2015 Sprint Cup ride (under NASCAR’s new horsepower reduction rules), it goes without saying that it’s powerful.
In fact, you need TWO keys to operate a Hellcat, either the Challenger or Charger version.
The first key is to allow you to use the first 500 horsepower in the motor.
The second key activates all 707 horses.
MotorAuthority.com said of the Hellcat’s power:
“We’ve driven the new Challenger SRT Hellcat and found that it delivers performance that will leave even those used to powerful cars awestruck, so this sad sight serves as an important reminder for buyers of such cars to always factor in their own skills and consider whether the cost of a performance driving course should be included in their price estimations.”
We couldn’t have said it better.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,018
Likes: 0
From: CA™
Alex Roy and Road & Track Editor-in-Chief Larry Webster Race a Dodge Challenger Hellcat against an F16 fighter jet at Homestead Air Force Base. It's not a fair fight with the rain, but why would we still not try when given the opportunity.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,018
Likes: 0
From: CA™
The name isn't great, even if it's rooted in history. All is forgotten upon a press of the start button, however, because the Dodge Challenger Scat Pack is a ridiculously fun machine set at half-Hellcat pricing.
Under the hood is a 485-horspower 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine that enjoys ruining any relationship it may have had with its own rear tires. Inside is a cabin that is actually from the 21-st century. Outside is retro styling done right, with a clear nod to the past mixed with modern touches.
It's not perfect, but that makes it even more of a muscle car, and that's part of the reason that we love it.
Just know that everywhere you go is now a Smoking Zone...
Under the hood is a 485-horspower 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine that enjoys ruining any relationship it may have had with its own rear tires. Inside is a cabin that is actually from the 21-st century. Outside is retro styling done right, with a clear nod to the past mixed with modern touches.
It's not perfect, but that makes it even more of a muscle car, and that's part of the reason that we love it.
Just know that everywhere you go is now a Smoking Zone...