Here's How Fast The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Really Is
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has become almost a bit of a meme in the car enthusiast community. It's huge, loud, heavy, and has way more horsepower than it has any right having. In the same way that the 1970 Dodge Charger Daytona was excessive with its huge rear spoiler and goofy fiberglass nosecone, the Challenger Hellcat is excessive for the 707 horsepower it put out when it was first released for the 2015 model year.
At the time, it was the most powerful engine Chrysler had ever produced. Now, it has only been surpassed by other variants of the Hellcat, culminating in the 797-horsepower 2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. When the full name of a car rivals the length of a sentence, the manufacturer is serious.
The Hellcats and all of its similar brethren achieve well north of 700 horsepower through the same time-honored tradition: Taking a huge V8 — in this case a 6.2-liter — and throwing a supercharger on it that itself sports a bigger displacement than some entire engines. The result is an extremely fast production car with more horsepower than a Lamborghini Aventador. How fast is the Hellcat?
Drives like hell
When it comes to American muscle cars, other cars are practically stationary compared to the Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody. According to Dodge, the Challenger tops out at 203 miles per hour — faster than other supercharged muscle cars like the Chevy Camaro ZL1. Breaking 200 miles per hour takes the Hellcat out of mall parking lot drag race territory and puts it firmly within the realm of supercars.
For American manufacturers, the Hellcat is only bested by the Ford GT. The GT looks like a bona-fide supercar straight from Gran Turismo, and the Hellcat looks like it was rendered on a Playstation 2 in comparison. It's worth noting the Challenger can also seat up to five people.
For acceleration, the Widebody variant takes a back seat to the 807 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock, which can launch itself from 0-60 miles per hour in 3.25 seconds, and complete the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds, thoroughly wiping the floor with any predecessor muscle car from the 1960s and 1970s.
The Hellcats' main rival, the supercharged 2022 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, can move itself to highway speed in a comparatively lethargic 3.4 seconds (via Car and Driver). However, both supercharged howling dinosaurs quickly fall apart when drag racing EVs like the Lucid Air Sapphire, which can kick it into warp speed and accelerate to 60 miles per hour in 2.1 seconds. Still, for a gas car, the Hellcat cars are some of the fastest muscle around.