Soon, there will be no more such brawls – between feisty, roaring Mopars and menacing Blue Ovals. Not because we don't want them but rather because Stellantis has ordered Dodge to end the Hemi V8 age. Alone, the S650 Mustang will soldier on for the ICE-powered car club.
That is because even the Chevy Camaro will be no more after the 2024 model year concludes its production run next January. Meanwhile, the 2023 Dodge Challenger and Charger V8s were retired even earlier, and now we have to wait and see if, along with the all-electric Charger Daytona SRT, also comes a Challenger/Charger with the Hurricane straight-six engine or not.
Until then, though, let us enjoy the great atmosphere of a major quarter-mile dragstrip facility and the traditional skirmish between Hellcats and Mustangs. It's all courtesy of the videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube, by the way. He is a big fan of the Mission Raceway Park (Thunder by the River) in Canada but also dwells around high-elevation venues like the Bandimere Speedway (aka Thunder Mountain) in Colorado or The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada.
Notice how we casually inserted the words 'high elevation' into the discussion? And fans know very well that it affects the performance of cars, especially when the thin air is combined with hot temperatures. That is why you will mostly see night footage from The Strip as everyone tries to get the cooler night air on their side. Well, sometimes it works, other times it doesn't – we'll let you be the judge if that was the case here, too.
What we have embedded below is a quick compilation of Hellcats – both Challengers and a Charger - battling Mustang GTs. And knowing that Ford's Coyote V8 is a naturally aspirated mill severely 'underpowered' compared to the supercharged V8 Hellcats, one would think that Dodge fans will be ecstatic after this trio of battles. Well, haven't we told you countless times that one should always expect the unexpected at the quarter-mile dragstrip?
So, the first skirmish goes down between a white Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in the left lane and an LED-infused yellow-and-black Ford Mustang GT (possibly an RTR build). After some tire-screeching, both drivers try to take the lead during the race, and ultimately, the white Mopar takes the victory with rather shameful times on both sides – 13.48s for the Dodge versus 14.13s for the Ford. That's keeping with appearances, right?
Next up, a black Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat came out for a yin versus yang battle with a white Ford Mustang GT. After a cleaner start than their predecessors, the Blue Oval representative takes the lead and never relinquishes it – victory is his, according to the track light, even though the ETs say otherwise. Last but not least, a white Challenger and Mustang duo don't walk into a bar; instead, they line up for the final skirmish of the night – and that's when disaster strikes with the 13.37s victory of the Mustang!
Yes, I know that elevation plays a role here. But come on, those Mustangs are sporting less than 500 ponies when stock. At the same time, the Hellcats have over 700 horsepower when coming out the factory gate – and they're also supercharged, so thin air shouldn't impact their performance as much as on naturally aspirated models. Someone should really feel ashamed after these races!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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