Had it been a conventional dig race to the quarter mile, the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat would have beaten the Tesla Model Y Performance by one tenth. However, the good folks at Edmunds have this thing called U-Drag, a racing format which includes acceleration, hard braking, and cornering to boot.
First things first, let's get acquainted with the contenders. The red-painted crossover in the video below is a 2020 model year Tesla Model Y Performance. Lighter than the Durango SRT Hellcat, the MYP weighs 4,419 pounds. The dual-motor powertrain is estimated at 456 ponies and 497 pound-feet (674 Nm), resulting in a weight-to-power ratio of 9.69 pounds for every single pony.
Not great, not terrible, but remember that electric vehicles deliver maximum torque way quicker than combustion-engined vehicles do. The Achilles' heel of go-faster EVs, however, comes in the form of direct drive. As a result, the most you can expect from the Model Y Performance in a straight line is 155 miles per hour (that'd be 250 clicks per hour).
Tipping the scales at 5,567 pounds (2,525 kilos), the 2023 model year Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat is joined at the hip to the discontinued Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. It has the same kind of torque as its stablemate, but a little more power. The numbers are 645 pound-feet (875 Nm) and 710 horsepower instead of 707 horsepower. The weight-to-power ratio is – not surprising anyone – superior to that of the MYP at 7.84 pounds per horsepower.
Designed by ZF, its eight-speed automatic enables a higher top speed as well. America's fastest three-row SUV powered by gas is much obliged to reach 180 miles per hour (290 kilometers per hour), which is exactly the same top end as the GCT. Its maker claims 3.5 seconds from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) and 11.5 seconds in the quarter mile, although Edmunds couldn't get near those numbers because of the unprepped surface.
Over the course of two races, the 'Rango clocked bests of 4.0 seconds and 12.4 seconds at 114.2 miles per hour (183.78 kilometers per hour), respectively. The Model Y Performance also needed 4.0 seconds to reach 60, half a second off Tesla's estimate. It ran the quarter mile in 12.5 at 111.3 miles per hour (179.11 kilometers per hour), but as expected, it also brakes harder than the blown V8-engined 'Rango.
The max cornering Gs recorded by Edmunds are 1.29 for the Model Y Performance compared to 1.01 for the heavier and taller Durango SRT Hellcat. Across the start/finish line, the Model Y was quicker by four tenths of a second. More specifically, 35.6 at 119.8 miles per hour (192.79 kilometers per hour) compared to 36.0 flat at 124.7 miles per hour (200.68 clicks per hour) for the Hellcat-ified SUV.
It's believed the Durango SRT Hellcat will be discontinued after the 2024 model year, which is also expected to be the final year of the Ram 1500 TRX. Hearsay suggests that all Gen 3 HEMI engines will go the way of the dodo after 2024, including the 6.4-liter V8 in the Ram HD. In their place, we'll get a twin-turbo 3.0L inline-six engine with up to 510 horsepower (as seen in the 2023 model year Jeep Grand Wagoneer) or all-electric powertrains that could crack 1,000 horsepower (think Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee).
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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