With 707 horsepower and a 10.8-second quarter-mile time, the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the most powerful muscle car on the market. Dodge refers to it as a true GT car – a car capable of 10-second times at the drag strip, but also able to take you on a cross-country drive with your family.
The key to the Challenger SRT Hellcat’s astonishing speed is under the hood – a 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V-8 engine. This 707-horsepower engine is the most powerful Chrysler Group V-8 ever, and has been finely engineered to ensure performance and reliability. The Hellcat V-8 boasts a forged-steel crankshaft capable of withstanding 110 bar (1,595 PSI) firing pressure, a specially tuned crank damper tested to 13,000 RPM, induction-hardened bearing surfaces, forged-alloy pistons, high-load-capacity bushings, and diamond-like carbon-coated piston pins.
Dodge understands that sheer horsepower isn’t enough to make a world-class car, so other elements of the Challenger SRT Hellcat have seen similarly high levels of engineering. Power is delivered from the engine to the rear axle via a six-speed manual transmission, or a first-in-class eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, and from the axle to the ground through 20″ lightweight forged-aluminum wheels. When it’s time to stop, 15.4″ Brembo six-piston front brakes are up to the job.
The Challenger SRT Hellcat also comes equipped with electronic features to help keep all that power under control: In addition to a suite of stability and safety features, the Hellcat comes with two key fobs to let the owner control their car’s performance (the red one enables full power, the black one limits the Hellcat to a mere 500 horsepower), Dodge’s new Drive Modes feature to allow customization of engine, transmission, tire, and chassis performance, and a “Valet Mode” which allows the driver to significantly reduce the engine’s performance and lock out the paddle shifters, Drive Modes, and launch control.
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