American V8 muscle took a turn for the worse in the 1970s due to the switch from gross to net ratings, a drop in compression ratios due to unleaded gasoline, and the advent of advanced emission controls. The wrongs of the Malaise Era, however, were righted in the 1980s with better cats, electronic fuel injection, and modern oxygen sensors.
American V8s came into their own again in the 1990s with the DOHC version of the Ford Modular engine and the introduction of the GM LS family of small blocks. Despite increasingly stringent fuel economy standards and evaporative emission regulations, the good ol' V8 cemented its status as the premier choice for American performance vehicles. Dodge took it to the next level in 2014 for the 2015 model year with the Hellcat version of the third-gen HEMI, an engine that launched in the Challenger SRT Hellcat and Charger SRT Hellcat with 707 ponies on tap.
Unfortunately for Hellcat enthusiasts, the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 is going the way of the dodo after the 2024 model year. The Ram 1500 pickup truck will also lose its 5.7-liter HEMI for 2025 in favor of a twin-turbo sixer that makes up to 510 horsepower in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, an engine that Chrysler refers to as Hurricane.
The Hellcat will be discontinued from the Challenger and Charger lines after 2023, which is high time for us to remember how badass the 6.2-liter mill is under the hood of a muscle car. Pictured at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania, the red Hellcat in the video below is a wide-bodied coupe with at least 717 ponies to its name. If we're dealing with the Hellcat Redeye version of the supercharged V8, that would be 797 ponies. Or 807 for the Super Stock.
Not exactly the fastest muscle car in the quarter-mile due to its considerable weight and tendency to spin the rear tires at launch, the Challenger SRT Hellcat is joined by a fine specimen of Cadillac's highest-performing sedan to date.
Photo: ImportRace on YouTube
Described by the uploader as being a CT4-V Blackwing despite glaring stylistic differences between it and the CT5-V Blackwing, the mid-size luxury sedan packs a blown small block rated at 668 horsepower. Torque is also worthy of mention. 659 pound-feet (893 Nm) may seem plenty enough for this application, yet Dodge can sweeten the deal to 707 pound-feet (959 Nm) for the Redeye and 945 pound-feet (1,281 Nm) for the Demon 170. Mad figures, right?
Be that as it may, power and torque aren't everything to American V8 muscle. How efficiently you put that power down makes a world of difference in a dig race, although you won't see a quarter-mile showdown between these cars. The name of the game is who carries the highest speed over a third of a mile, and – obviously enough – the heavier Challenger SRT Hellcat asserts dominance over the Caddy.
138.04 miles per hour (222 kilometers per hour) was the trap speed of the Dodge, whereas the CT5-V Blackwing clocked 136.65 miles per hour (220 kilometers per hour). The gentleman in the Challenger SRT Hellcat later did a solo pass, recording 140.73 miles per hour (226 kilometers per hour). The fastest a series-production Challenger is capable of going for the 2023 model year is 203 miles per hour (327 kilometers per hour), which is utterly insane.
On the other hand, remember that Cadillac promises in excess of 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour) from the heir apparent of the CTS-V that started the V series in the first place. Even though GM confirmed that its long-running small block will survive another generation, the Cadillac brand is going fully electric by 2030. In other words, the CT5-V Blackwing may be the Cadillac brand's last hurrah of American V8 muscle in a four-door package.
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. Full profile
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