Tuned Dodge Charger Hellcat Races McLaren 720S, Someone Gets Taught a Lesson

Last week, if you recall, we showed you a race between a 1,000-hp Audi RS7 Sportback and a 750-hp Porsche 911 Turbo S. Why is that relevant here? Well, because the Porsche 911 Turbo/Turbo S is the type of car you should just know better than to challenge in a straight line. It is so good at accelerating off the mark you need an immense amount of power in order to prevail against it.

The McLaren 720S sits comfortably in that very same category. It’s not quite as perfect off the line as the Porsche, but it does have better aerodynamics, so it’s formidable when you’re racing from a roll. We’ve seen the 720S beat everything from twin turbo-muscle cars to 1,000 hp+ Nissan GT-Rs. It cuts through air like a hot knife through butter, so bet against it at your own risk.

Its power comes from a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine, rated at 710 hp (720 PS) and 568 lb-ft (770 Nm) of torque. Of course, we all know it might be putting down more power than advertised by now, thanks to multiple dyno runs that showed McLaren underselling its product in terms of real-world performance – some claim it's packing closer to 800 hp.

So then, how much of a chance does a tuned Dodge Charger Hellcat have against one of the fastest cars in the world? This particular Charger Hellcat is running a full bolt-on/E85 spec, and we believe it’s the same Charger that recently raced a tuned Corvette C7 Z06, which would mean it’s putting down some 1,000 hp at the crank.

That’s definitely enough to make this an interesting race, but can it really match the McLaren 720S once they get up to higher speeds? Only one way to find out.