Introduced for the 2015 model year, the Hellcat was updated again for 2019 with slightly more ponies. Be that as it may, the Challenger with the 6.2-liter V8 is a heavy car that’s hard to launch with minimal wheelspin.
The muscle car in the featured clip is estimated at 4,494 pounds (2,038 kilograms), with 57 percent of that weight hanging over the front axle. The wide-bodied land missile comes with 20- by 11-inch wheels mounted with 305/35 tires, and this particular example features the automatic gearbox.
Capable of 717 horsepower at 6,000 revolutions per minute and 656 pound-feet (889 Nm) at 4,800 rpm, the Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody isn’t for the faint of heart on the quarter-mile. But nevertheless, it can’t obliterate a six-cylinder sports car with a naturally-aspirated engine. It’s not any sports car, though, but a GT3 RS from the previous generation of the Neunelfer.
Tipping the scales at 3,131 pounds (1,420 kilograms), the 991.1 in this configuration launched in 2015 for the 2016 model year with a motorsport-derived mill that revs like crazy, all the way to 8,800 rpm. The 4.0-liter boxer needs 8,250 rpm to produce 493 glorious horsepower, and 339 pound-feet (460 Nm) of torque are produced in earnest at 6,250 rpm.
Instead of a torque-converter automatic, the GT3 RS is rocking a dual-clutch transmission with seven forward gears. Blistering quick on downshifts and upshifts alike, this box is perfectly suited for enthusiastic driving on a winding road. Speaking of which, this version of the 911 feels best in the twisties.
It’s not a straight-line machine by design, but on the other hand, we’re dealing with 21- by 12.5-inch wheels mounted with 325/30 tires out back. Weight distribution also favors this rear-engined precision machine. 61 percent of the curb weight is over the rear, which makes a tremendous difference even if the driver launches the car somewhat poorly.
Case in point: on the first run, Sam CarLegion uses too many revs. But nevertheless, it leaves the Hellcat for dead. With Porsche’s owner behind the steering wheel, the launch is much cleaner. Even from a roll, the Dodge fails to make up enough ground by the end of the quarter mile.
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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