Last week, we pointed out the rumor mill-supplied 10.9-second quarter mile time for the 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat seemed legit. Dodge has now dropped the official 1/4 mile bomb, proving the aforementioned figure was wrong. It’s actually 10.8, but there’s a twist spin here.
What Dodge did was to build a bridge between the new-age and the original muscle car era, unleashing a video that shows the Challenger Hellcat battle it out on the drag strip with a 1971 426 Hemi Challenger.
The latter roasts its rear tires with the help of 425 hp, so don’t take this serious folks. Oh, did we say tires? Well, we need to explain. Yes, the Challenger Hellcat did play the quarter mile game in 10.8 seconds at 126 mph (203 km/h), but it did so while using drag radials. Still, it puts a smile on our face to know you can walk out of the showroom, drop by a tire shop and then hit the strip with a 10.8.
“But the Challenger Hellcat has optional Pirelli P Zero rubber, how about that?” we hear you asking. The answer is 11.2 seconds, with a trap speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). This makes the Hellcat the new king of the drag strip, with the Mustang Shelby GT500 having been dethroned. The 662 hp Shelby, which is lighter than the 707 hp Hellcat, needs at least 11.5 seconds for the same job.
By the way, the aforementioned 11.5s time is a bit ironical if you ask Europeans. They are the ones pointing figers at the old Mercedes E-Class connections of the Challenger's platform for the latter's weight. Well, the new E63 AMG, in the 577 hp (585 PS) AWD spec of the S model, needs precisely 11.5 seconds to complete the quarter mile task.
Returning to the US, here's what we have to say: Fret not muscle car power war fans, the fighting is not over. First of all, the star of the video below is a Challenger Hellcat gifted with the new TorqueFlite 8-speed auto, which is expected to be quicker than the one fitted with an upgraded version of the Viper’s 6-speed Tremec manual. We still expect the Dodge to come out as the faster car, but the difference should be smaller.
More importantly, Blue Oval engineers are currently working overtime to develop the Shelby incarnation of the new Mustang. We’d keep an eye on this new muscle car era if we were you.
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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