Challenger SRT Hellcat Tries To Cheat at the Starting Line but Gets Punished by Karma

Sam from the "Sam CarLegion" YouTube channel hosted this event straight from the Dunnville Autodrome drag strip in Ontario, Canada. He was also behind the wheel of the stock Nissan GT-R R35 that came rocking a 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine. It's "just" a facelift model, but it packs quite the 565 hp (573 ps) punch.

It also has 467 lb-ft (633 Nm) of torque. All that force will be pushing its AWD system forward via its six-speed DCT. It weighs 3,933 lbs. or 1,783 kg. Another fun fact about it is that at launch, it was just a $10 bill shy of $100k.

While many may disagree, historians are of the same mind and have concluded it's one of the very few fast cars on the planet that looks good in white. Aside from milk delivery trucks, that is.

Next up is one of the most adored purebred American vehicles, the Challenger SRT Hellcat. This orange furless feline brought its famous 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine. Studies have shown that it can output 717 hp (727 ps), with 656 lb-ft (889 Nm) of torque.

It also boasts a rear-wheel drive system, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and weighs 4,436 lbs. (2,012 kg). Price-wise, if you were to get a 2022 model year, it would burn a $72,430-shaped hole in your wallet.

The last contestant is an all-black RS 3 that's been tuned like nobody's business. By that, I mean that it dons a Stage 2 ECU and TCU, a CTS DSG Catch Can, CTS 4" intake and turbo inlet pipe, a CTS wastegate line, CTS Catless mid-pipe, and downpipe, racing plugs, MPI injectors, and finally, a Street Density Dogbone Mount.

Apparently, the "surgery," together with its 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five engine, can take the RS3's performance to a whopping (estimated) 554 hp (562 ps) with 527 lb-ft (714 Nm) of torque. It's AWD, has a seven-speed DCT, and weighs in at 3,600 lbs (1,633 kg).

A 2023 model-year RS 3 starts from around $61,000 and comes with a more "modest" 401 hp (406 ps) and 369 ft-lb (500 Nm) of torque. While the difference between the stock RS 3 and this tuned version might seem big, keep in mind that Audi claims the showroom variant can go from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in just 3.6 seconds.

Now, finally, let's head on over to the main event. During the first attempt, the Hellcat tried to cheat a bit and jumped the start. However, in less than three seconds, the Nissan was at least a car length in front of it while the RS 3 was passing it by.

It's times like these that you realize crime just doesn't pay... but also that the Hellcat stands no chance against its competitors. Not even when the driver has a lead foot. In any case, the GT-R won, as you most likely figured that out by now, with the Audi in second place, and the Hellcat last.

In the second race, "Karma" was the true winner because justice was served... 1/4-mile at a time. But in all seriousness, this time around, they all launched at the same time, with the Nissan winning by about two car lengths in front of the RS 3, while the Hellcat was so bar behind, we can measure the distance using train lengths.

Seeing as the results wouldn't have changed at all, short of the Dodge pulling a Dick Dastardly move and blowing out the Nissan's and Audi's tires, there was no point in going for a third race. However, they shaked things up and decided to go for a couple of classic roll races.

The first one started from 31 mph or 50 kph. Here, something interesting happened right from the start, when the Audi was leading confidently and actually managed to win the race. The Japanese car came in second, and the poor Hellcat only received a participation award.

During the second roll race, they went at it at 50 mph, a.k.a. 80 kph. Now, strap in, cause your mind is about to get blown. While the GT-R won by about three car lengths, the SRT Hellcat landed in the second position. The Audi came in third, but by this point, seeing the Dodge not finishing last was a sight to behold that day.

While it might not necessarily be fair to make a muscle car race against these types of competitors, at least seeing it in action brings good entertainment value to the table.