There’s nothing sweeter than listening to a supercharger whine amidst the roar of a HEMI V8 engine. It’s everything you want from a muscle car and the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and all its Hellcat badged variants, are amazing at their job – which is to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand as you’re grinning like a 10-year-old.
The Hellcat did wonders for the Challenger’s overall popularity among car enthusiasts. It nearly broke the internet when it first came out, featuring a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 with 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft (881 Nm) of torque.
People were really taken in by its looks, performance, and all that black key/red key business – you felt like you were launching a missile.
On paper, though, the Hellcat wasn't mind-boggling quick over a quarter mile unless you ditch the stock tires in favor of some drag radials. But usually, this is an 11-second car. The same is true today, even though Dodge gave the base-spec Hellcat a power boost (from 707 hp to 717 hp) for the 2019 model year.
Of course, you can easily go faster by opting for something like the Redeye or the SRT Super Stock, unless you’re lucky enough to still find a Demon on the used market.
In this video, uploaded on September 30, you’ll see what the Super Stock can do against a stock Hellcat, albeit one that appears to be wearing drag radials (both cars are, actually), which would explain its metamorphosis into a 10-second car. The races take place at Orlando Speed World, with the action kicking off around the 1:12 minute mark.
As for what’s going on underneath the hood of that Super Stock, you’re basically dealing with the same engine as in the Redeye but boosted to 807 hp (818 ps). This car also comes with lightweight 18-inch wheels and drag radials like the Demon, to go with a shorter final-drive ratio, drag-optimized suspension tuning, plus a few other goodies.
In the end, the Hellcat did a great job of covering the quarter mile in just 10.3 seconds at 129 mph (207 kph). However, the Super Stock was obviously quicker, needing just 9.8 seconds at 138 mph (222 kph) over the same distance.
Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration. Full profile
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