If the normal Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat lineup has got what it takes to step on the toes of the supercar establishment, where does a 1,000-horsepower copy fit it? Not in the upper class because it would need more oomph for that, but in a superior league reserved for rides that can give you brown pants every time you decide to abuse the loud pedal.
Equipped with the H1000 package, this Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Jailbreak has had its internals rearranged by Hennessey. The famous tuner-turned-supercar-maker lists stuff such as the upgraded supercharger complete with the peripherals, new fuel injectors, high-flow air induction system, crank case ventilation, software upgrade, and a few other things as responsible for boosting the output and torque of the muscle car.
The result is power on par with the original Bugatti Veyron from the supercharged 6.2-liter V8, which was massaged to deliver 1,000 hp (1,014 ps/746 kW) at 6,500 rpm and 948 lb-ft (1,285 Nm) of torque at 4,200 rpm. That’s some 200 horsepower more than what the stock unit produces, and it’s backed up by dyno testing. Road testing for up to 500 miles or 805 kilometers is also included, alongside the professional installation guaranteed by the tuner’s engineers. Fitted with new exterior badging and a plaque in the engine bay, the car comes with a three-year/36,000-mile (-km) warranty.
Now, an extra 200 hp doesn’t sound like much, especially in today’s world where the line between super and hyper cars is all blurry, but it makes a ton of difference in a ride like the Dodge Challenger, which is an aging product having been in production since 2008. The extra punch allows the engine to breathe more freely and helps it whine more because, let’s face it, everyone loves a good supercharger whine. And we might as well enjoy every moment of it before the electric era takes over the automotive world completely and the upcoming legislation forces us to ditch our fossil-fueled cars for those that sip electrons.
But that’s a different story, so we’d better steer back to the one that made us dedicate another story to the Challenger SRT Hellcat Jailbreak, one that involves a highly-powerful copy being thrashed around a closed course. Shot from the driver’s point of view, the video came directly from Hennessey and is four minutes long; four minutes of throttle abuse sprinkled by that great V8 soundtrack that might make some enthusiasts watching it consider buying a Hellcat and hand it over to the famous tuner to fit it with the H1000 package. Ah, if only we could afford to blow a six-digit sum on such a monstrous ride. But one can always dream about it, right?
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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