Dodge Challenger and Charger owners had been discussing the idea of a hydraulic handbrake that would allow the to dance their tanks for years, but, to the best of our knowledge, nobody has turned this into tire-smoking reality. Nobody on the street that is.
For instance, the Dodge Charger SRT8s used in Fast Five had hydraulic handbrakes, as you can see at the bottom of the gallery below. But that is a thing of the past now and we want to focus on the Challenger Hellcat. Remember the Challenger Hellcat Airlift Drift ad done by Pennzoil?
Well, the coolest commercial we've seen this year was done with the help of a 707 hp Challenger that had been fitted with a hydraulic handbrake.
Back in March when the ad was launched, we didn't notice this, as the commercial itself didn't take us inside the cabin. The custom drifting inducer was visible in the behind-the-scenes clip (0;14, second video below). But its brief presence was more of an Easter Egg - you know the SRT people are obsessed with Easter Eggs, so Pennzoil, which is the official lubricant supplier for the Hellcat, only continued the trolling.
Oh and it seems they used more than one Hellcat to shoot the original ad.
So, how do we know the now-famous Yellow Hellcat, which was manhandled by pro drifter Rhys Millen, comes with a hydraulic handbrake? The oil maker put together a second ad!
It all happened back in early August, when Barrett-Jackson held the 3rd Annual Hot August Nights Auction in Reno, Nevada. Rhys smoked the hell out of that SRT cat once again, drifting it all over downtown Reno. Heck, he even went sideways around the coveted Barrett-Jackson Cup.
While you can watch all that in the video below, we spotted the handbrake detail in the mega-gallery released with the clip.
Truth be told, the Hellcat was crying for a hydraulic handbrake. For one thing, the standard foot-operated system is impossible to use in order to get the car sideways. And if Rhys Millen needs such a trick to smoke those tires better, we'd like to see somebody arguing their right foot is all the sideways instrument they need.
PS: we've been keeping an eye on the Yellow Hellcat and we'd like to remind you this Mopar machine is currently used as a development car for an upcoming Hennessey power upgrade.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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