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Dodge Challenger, Charger SRT Hellcat Secrets Unveiled by Russ Ruedisueli

If you're not familiar with the Hellcat breed, you need to know that the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful production muscle car ever made, while the Charger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful and fastest sedan in the world. But have you ever wondered what secrets do these vehicles pack and who's the man behind these bad, bad kitties?
2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat 1 photo
Photo: Dodge
His name is Russ Ruedisueli and he's the vehicle line executive and head engineer for the SRT skunkworks division. At first glance, there's not much to tell you that this guy is the mastermind that decided to shoehorn 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft (881 Nm) under the hood of the two previously mentioned vehicles. That 6.2-liter S/C vee eight is a game changer that'll most certainly keep Ford and General Motors engineers on their toes.

But did you know that the original output target for the Hellcat HEMI V8 was 700 horsepower? In a recent episode of Autoline, Russ noted that "our engine guys over-delivered a bit." And the Hellcat moniker was just an internal codename at first for the supercharged HEMI powerplant, but "it just kind of stuck. The brand guys loved it." Russ also disclosed that development on the supercharged mill started during a time when rival brands were increasing the oomph of their high performance models. SRT wanted to remain competitive “and add a little margin for safety,” Ruedisueli explains.

Furthermore, before the 6.2-liter tower-of-power is fitted in the engine bay, the motor is tested for 42 minutes on a dynamometer in Chrysler's Saltillo, Mexico plant before being shipped to Brampton, Ontario. By the way, about that engine dyno. Due to the massive torque generated by the blown mill, testing equipment had to be upgraded to handle the Hellcat’s output. And that's saying something.

Although it's a heavy son of a gun, the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat can do the quarter mile in just 10.8 seconds at 126 mph (203 km/h) using a set of street-legal drag radials. Want another cool stat about the Hellcat breed? Both models aren't electronically governed by top speed limiting nannies. Last but not least, Russ told that a lot of attention was invested at SRT for development of low-speed drivability and in snowy conditions: "We didn’t want the driving experience to be this hair-trigger kind of thing," Russ explains.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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