Challenger SRT Hellcat: Only a little excessive
When it comes to the Dodge Challenger, you can select whatever you want. Our choice for this week is the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, which, on the Challenger scale of performance, ranks next to the top -- somewhere between excessive and outrageously excessive.
This one was bright yellow, called “Yellow Jacket” in the best glance backward at the legendary “Super Bee” genre of Dodge hot cars. Bright as Yellow Jacket was, you’d have to say it was subtle, because there were no extra stripes or bold markings on it, just a small emblem of a snarling animal we are assuming is a hellcat, one on each side, right up near the special low-gloss black alloy wheels, upon which are mounted 275/40ZR20 Pirelli P-Zero summer tires, which we are to deduce means over and above the standard tires Dodge is calling “all-season performance” tires.
There is an interesting progression of Challengers, and they keep proliferating in their never-ending battle for marketplace segment against the Ford Mustand and Chevrolet Camaro -- the three original Pony cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s when the factories raced their coupes in the Trans-Am racing series. Carmaros and Mustangs do their things for performance, but under Fiat ownership, Dodge seems to keep breaking through whatever ceiling is up there.
At the basic level, there is the more-than-adequate Challenger with a 305-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 -- including the new GT model with all-wheel drive; moving up to the potent 372-horsepower 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is a giant step up the performance ladder; then there is the excessive 485-horsepower 6.4-liter Hemi; and on up to the Hellcat’s 707-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi; and up on top is the truly outrageously excessive Demon, with its 6.2-liter Hemi’s supercharger screwed up to the 808-horsepower level -- that one is capable of 840 horsepower if you pour 100-octane pump gas into it.
When I first drove the Hellcat, I wondered what in the world could come after the SRT gang (Street and Racing Technology) started getting restless again. Well, the 2018 Demon is the next step. But that one is over $86,000.
Backing off one plateau to the 707 Hellcat level is, as I mentioned, more than excessive even if tastefully short of outrageously excessive. It will cost you, because such high-performance technology is expensive, and the SRT Hellcat has a base price of $62,495. Loaded up as my test car was means a total price of $70,975.
That’s a lot, but it’s still a Honda Civic shy of the Demon’s sticker.
The Hellcat powertrain combines 650 foot-pounds of torque with those 707 horsepower, with the horsepower peaking at 6,000 RPMs and the torque’s full pulling power hitting its peak at 4,800 revs. A Torque-Flite 8-speed automatic transmission is beefed up to transfer all that power to the rear wheels, which are capable of spinning freely as if resisting the urge to supply merely excessive traction.
Paddles affixed to the steering wheel allow you to shift by hand, although the automatic’s calibrated shift points are pretty much spot-on for anything this side of a dragstrip.
Speaking of drafstrips, the Hellcat comes equipped with all the technical stuff required to make you and instant challenger, so to speak, at any track-day drags. And for fun, you can set the computerized launch control goodies to allow you to rev up the engine and then launch the beast with optimum delay. It will even give you readouts for your choice, 0-30, 0-60, 0-100, quarter-mile, whatever. And, it will give you a reaction time, which might be embarrassing to would-be hot-rodders, who learn how tough it is to time your launch for minimal waste.
While still bearing strong resemblance to the 1970 Challenger, the new Hellcat is bristling with interior features and pleasant items to make the most contemporary car-buyer happy. Start with the 6-way power bucket driver’s seat and its 4-way lumbar adjustment. The ventilated and heated front buckets are complemented by actual usable rear seats, rather than the cramped jump-seats of Mustang and Camaro.
The Harmon Kardon audio system with its GreenEdge amplifier is nothing anybody could have imagined in 1970, with its 18 speakers and subwoofer. Same with the Uconnect 8.4-inch navigation screen and GPS system, plus Apple Car Play and Google Android Auto capability. Sirius Satellite audio with travel link, augments the standard safety technology on the car.
We have electronic roll mitigation, stability control, all-speed traction control, ear park system with rear park camera, blind-spot detection and rear cross detection are also standard.
The tuned Bilstein 4-mode competition suspension is not harsh, but if you find it harsh you can back off the track or sport settings. With remote keyless entry, and push-button start, you can enjoy normal cruising or even congestion driving without difficulty.
The Brembo 6-piston front brakes help haul down the SRT Hellcat from whatever type of driving you’re engaged in -- street, highway, freeway, boulevard, or race track, and when you drive the car hard, it gives you nothing short of exhilarating feedback from every tap of your toe on the gas pedal, or every twitch of the steering wheel.
The temptation to show off a bit prevails, though, especially when you first climb in the SRT Hellcat, buckle the seat belt, and then hit the starter. I defy you to not crack the throttle, just a little meaningful blip to startle any passers-by and cause every hot-car enthusiast to snap to attention.
The EPA says you can expect 13 miles per gallon in city driving, and 22 on highway travel. We easily topped 13 in town, even scaling the cliffs of Duluth, and we cruised easily at over 20 on highway travel. Of course, if you give in to temptation too often, you can reduce that potential considerably.
And while I mentioned that the lack of striping and flashy graphics makes the SRT Hellcat conparatively subtle, that doesn’t mean your local gendarmes will have any trouble spotting a nearly glow-in-the-dark Yellow Jacket painted Challenger. And that neat little Hellcat head is also easy to identify.
