Stellantis doesn’t call the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat the “world’s most powerful SUV” for no reason. And the insane three-row family hauler knows very well that it’s living on borrowed time, so it’s only logical for its owners to try and make the best of it.
After all, the Durango SRT Hellcat will be an exotic sight just about everywhere, not just the drag strip. That’s because at just 2,000 units, it’ll be rarer than a Demon (3,300 examples). Naturally, at least initially, people are going to see how it fares against the quarter-mile competition in stock form.
Then it’s probably time for improvements across the board, as the aftermarket community will probably dig in to see what makes this HEMI-toting machine tick. For now, we’ve seen the price, production time (it will bow out in June, apparently), reviews (both normal and of the POV kind), as well as a feeble attempt (with snow tires) at drag racing glory.
But, of course, the case won’t be settled properly until an example hits the grippy drag strip. Luckily, we have the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube to rely upon. They’ve recently caught a white Hellcat hitting the strip late at night for some much-needed coolness (both visually and temperature-wise) in an attempt to solve the mystery about the official National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)-certified quarter-mile elapsed time.
According to the company, the 2021 Durango SRT Hellcat can hit the strip with an excellent result (for its category) of just 11.5 seconds. We all know that theory and practice are two things that sometimes live on different planets, so it’s interesting to see how close anyone can get to the fabled reading that was probably achieved in perfect conditions and after countless attempts.
For now, all we have are a couple of runs, though. These don’t even try to settle the import vs. domestic quarrel, as the first time we see a Mustang gunning for glory alongside the Durango, and the second run comes in the company of the Spartanburg-produced BMW X5.
How about the ET figures, then? Well, it’s a promising start, with the Hellcat SUV winning both encounters and improving the result from the initial 12.23s at 115 mph (185 kph) to a much more sensible 11.9s and 116 mph (187 kph) trap speed.
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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