Like most gearheads, we'll never get bored of watching drag races between muscly cars born in the USA and blue-blooded exotics. And if you feel the same, then you are where you should be, as you're about to watch a straight-line battle between two hot rides that have absolutely nothing in common other than sheer power and the ability to make their occupants dizzy upon abusing the right pedal.
Sitting in the black corner is an older Dodge Charger. The muscly sedan is in the Hellcat configuration, hence the presence of the sought-after logos on the front fenders, and has the ubiquitous motor under the hood. You're looking at the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 that pumps out in excess of 700 horsepower without anyone messing around with it. This is a 10-second car down the quarter-mile on a good day, so beating into submission will require something far more exciting.
Speaking of which, we'll now move to the orange corner that hosts a McLaren. It is a 570S, which left the assembly line for good two years ago. As its name implies, it has 570 horsepower, albeit metric. This translates to 562 brake horsepower or 419 kilowatts produced by its twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 engine. Like its ad-hoc rival from Dodge, the Macca is also rear-wheel drive. And while it seems that the 570S is the underdog here, we also have to factor in the weight, as it is significantly lighter than the Charger.
Between us, we'd place a blind bet on the Hellcat, as it holds the upper ground when it comes to power. Then again, those into sporty models would probably bet on the McLaren, as it is the most agile here and also the lightest. Truth be told, it could be anyone's game, and let's not forget about the role of the drivers, as a quick takeoff can often make the difference between crossing the finish line first and losing the battle. Speaking of which, neither of the two turned out to be 10-second supercars in this direct battle hosted at the Las Vegas Speedway, as one was clocked at 13.42 seconds, with an exit speed of 127.76 mph (205.61 kph), and the other at 12.54 seconds, at 124.37 mph (200.15 kph).
So, can you spot the winner just by taking a look at the spec sheets of both cars? Probably not, as we were certainly surprised with the result. We won't spoil the vid, which is almost three minutes long and is certainly worth a watch, as it shows both rides taking on other fast vehicles in subsequent quarter-mile battles. Before wrapping it up, we've got to know if the result surprised you too. So, drop a line in the comments section and let us know if it did.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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