In the automotive world, they say that few cars are bigger than life itself and can easily punch above their weight class. Most likely, the third iteration of the Dodge Challenger is one of them, even when going against a feisty mid-size luxury SUV.
The Audi Q7, a never-ending subject of soccer mom jokes, at least on the Old Continent, is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced since late 2005 by the Ingolstadt-based German automaker as a sibling to the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne. Well, some of the jesters might remain mum if they knew the second iteration, presented back in early 2015 in Detroit at NAIAS and manufactured on the VW Group MLB Evo platform, is a kindred technical spirit with ultra-luxury super-SUVs like the Audi Q8, Bentley Bentayga, and the Lamborghini Urus.
In fact, the SQ7 model even had access to a trio of engine variants to better cope with all whims and desires, a 429-hp (900 Nm – 664 lb-ft) turbo diesel version with a 4.0-liter V8, plus the initial U.S. model with a gasoline 4.0-liter TFSI and 500 hp. Today, the latter is also offered in Europe. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing for sure if that is also the case with the Audi SQ7 we see embedded below in the latest feature from the good folks over at Drag Car 4K, who are always eager to show us that traditional quarter-mile drag racing is also deeply beloved on the Old Continent.
This is because their videographer was mostly focused on the quirkiness of having an orange (blossom) from the Americas. That would be a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat which entered the race during an event that took place in July last year on what certainly looks like an improvised dragstrip that would have U.S. quarter-mile enthusiasts cry over the lack of a thoroughly prepped competition surface. Anyway, they did their best with what they had available, and the numerous quirky battles seen during this channel’s features are a statement that European drags are vastly entertaining when the racers know what they are doing.
Such was also the case here, even though some people might be quick to judge that AWD wins the case when such unprepped conditions occur. Alas, do not hurry to weigh in before the race is over, as it turned out that as Americans say, “there is no replacement for displacement.” As such, the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi tucked under the hood of the orange SRT Hellcat with more than 700 ponies proved more than enough to handle the traction advantage of the 4.0-liter turbo sitting inside the engine bay of the humongous SUV. Although, we really cannot say the Challenger was much slimmer either, considering those wide ‘hips,’ right?
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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