A 707 horsepower car that can be driven around like any other car. Consider that any ’60s or ’70s-era muscle car that could run a sub-12-second quarter-mile was not street-drivable.
I have been waiting for you… It took 45 years, but the moment has finally arrived. A real muscle car is once again available. Scary. Dangerous – in the hands of a fool or a novice. A car that’s got more engine than traction and you’d damned well better respect that. 707 supercharged horsepower through just two wheels (the rear wheels). Mid-high 11 second quarter-miles on tap. A Saturn V pointed horizontally – with air conditioning and license plates. Delicious sick madness.
Dodge calls it the Charger Hellcat – and it is a speed freak’s wet dream. But – if you have the means – you’d better get one while you still can. Before the insurance mafia realizes that horsepower has caught up with – and overwhelmed – tire technology. Just like back in the day, only at a much higher level of potential mayhem. It is inevitable that some termagant killjoy bureaucrat, politician – or “concerned mom” – asks why anyone needs a 707 hp 11 second/200 MPH car.
Comparisons will be drawn between the Hellcat and “assault” rifles. You know the rest.
Carpe diem. By the throat. And this car is just the ticket for doing that.
WHAT IT IS
Let’s pull no punches. The Hellcat is the most powerful car Chrysler has ever sold.
Period. That includes the current Viper – which offers a miserly 645 hp (from an 8.4 liter V10) as well as legends from the past like the ’70 Charger Daytona/Superbird with the dual-quad (twin four-barrel carburetors) 426 Street Hemi V8.
There is nothing out there even in the same league. At least, nothing with four doors that doesn’t cost six-figures. Just $62,295 to start – which is reasonable given what you’re getting. How much does a Nextel Cup car cost? But you will want to check with your insurance mafia representative before pulling the trigger as this thing is going to cost you unholy sums to cover.
Though surprisingly, not so much to feed. The Hellcat’s gas mileage is not bad… for a Nextel Cup stocker with tags and AC.
Anyhow, this car is like the Liger – the one-off cross between a tiger and a lion (which is bigger than either). There is simply nothing else like it on the road. And nothing that can touch it. It’s terrifyingly magnificent, truly awesome – like witnessing a thermonuclear burst from just a bit too close.
WHAT’S NEW
The Charger that (like Bruce Banner and the Hulk) that serves as the groundwork for the Hellcat has been significantly updated both cosmetically and functionally for the new model year. The ultimate Charger. It is built around a supercharged version of the Hemi V8 that’s optional in the standard-issue Charger. Displacing 6.2 liters, it makes nearly twice the power (707 vs. 370) and turns a quick car into a supercar capable of mid-high 11 second quarter-mile passes at close to 130 MPH, with a top speed of more than 200 MPH.
An extremely beefed up version of the now-standard (in all Chargers) eight-speed automatic drives the rear wheels – making for sideways driving, as you like it. Or, engage the launch control to keep things somewhat civilized – if you can use that word to describe a car that can reach double the highest-legal speed limit in the United States in the time it takes a Prius to get from rest to 60.
WHAT’S GOOD
- That they had the balls to build it.
- That they have the nerve to sell it
- That you might be able to afford it.
- Untouchable performance – with room for five.
- If you missed the original muscle car era, relive it now.
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD
- Driving this car on public roads is like having an all-day erection at the YMCA… if you’re not gay.
- Mostly only older dudes will be able to afford this one. Especially the insurance on this one.
It can’t last. They are going to get wind of what’s up and pull the plug. This car is the equivalent of Elvis showing up at the White House in a purple cape holding a pair of loaded gold-plated .45 automatics … and demanding to see the president.
Regular V8 Chargers equipped with V8s come with 5.7 liters and 370 hp; the R/T ups that to 6.4 liters and 485 hp. They are small fry. Weak sisters. Ho-hum.
Well, compared with what lies under the aluminum hood of the Hellcat. It is a slightly smaller (6.2 liter) version of the Hemi V8. But its effective displacement (in terms of airflow) has been increased by another 30-40 percent when the supercharger that’s perched in between those Hemi orange powder-coated valve covers compresses the incoming air charge to 9 PSI. Now you’re dealing with an engine that’s closer in real terms to a naturally-aspirated (non-supercharged) V8 of around 8 liters’ in size. But even so, few of them make 707 hp. Not even 8 liter V10s – as in the current Viper – make that kind of power.
Nothing does.
Well, nothing that’s not a Nextel Cup stocker. Tony Stewart’s car makes about 800 hp.
And it does not have AC.
Read the rest at http://ericpetersautos.com/
Great Analogy of the car…..collectors’ items for sure….even the new Z07 Corvettes can’t touch this….the only downside I could possibly see is that if it still drives like the old muscle cars from that era..ie no magnetic damping, or computer assist on the wheels to deal with less than experienced drivers….a lot of temptation built into this car….even its picture reminds me of what we used to call sleeper cars….very unassuming looking.