Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

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Driving the 2015 707bhp DoDge Challenger Srt hellCat iS one of the moSt Daunting experienCeS wheels haS ever unDertaken, but thiS amazing muSCle Car makeS you work willingly for itS exponential rewarDSWords: liam nelson. PHotos: suPPlied

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Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

I had to wait a few beats before I could sit down and write about my experience driving the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. For one thing, it’s hard to type when your body is coursing with adrenaline and your limbs feel strangely lighter than they should. Maybe it’s just me, but the Hellcat demands not just respect, but reverence entwined with a measure of fear.

Seven hundred and seven horsepower is never something to take lightly. Ever. But the Hellcat blows all that power into a package that is fairly unique in modern high-performance cars. It poses a tantalising contrast between the brute force it can exert and the subtle inputs that make it thrive out on the track. Who knew

muscle cars required finesse? Answer: muscle car fanatics like the ones who populate the Challenger team at Dodge and SRT.

Every time another engineer or designer came up in conversation, it would come out that they were restoring a classic era Challenger in their spare time. This tells you two interesting things about America — firstly, that the cost of living in Michigan is low enough that people can actually afford project cars; and secondly, that the muscle car legacy is never far from the petrol-addled (OK, gas-addled) Yank brain. You’d think I’d know this as one myself, but hey, I grew up driving Volvo estates outside of San Francisco and came late to the party — sure glad I’m here, though.

Stare at the new Challenger (you’ll want to) and it peers back with an almost owlish glare. This car is the epitome of retro Detroit, inspired by its 1971 predecessor, so it might be surprising to learn that its luminous detail work hangs on one of this decade’s most notable trends; LED lighting. SRT’s chief designer Mark Trostle explained that the Challenger’s halo lamps “exaggerate the width of the vehicle,” giving it a grounded, ready-for-anything aesthetic. “They’re made from fused LEDs,” explained Trostle, “giving them a smooth, continuous line to fill out the shape.”

Unlike so many other interpretations of LED tech, you’d never look at the Challenger and think, “right, more LEDs” — a feat that I hope more designers will look to.

Starting out from a sunny side street in Portland, Oregon, my first go at the Challenger is in the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 with up to

375 horsepower and 555Nm of torque paired to Dodge’s new TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s not a Hellcat, fine, but it’s still one hell of a car. What’s particularly impressive about this combination is that it is a more than viable daily driver. Sure, it’s got more push when you ask for it than a Camry (a lot more), but it’s supremely comfortable and unintimidating in its normal, around-town guise. Open the throttle and a different personality emerges. The car roars and surges forward like any self-respecting beast with the word ‘muscle’ in its phylum. But, at least to me, the pleasant surprise here isn’t how aggressive the Challenger can be; it’s how refined it is around town.

Beginning my day in the base car is never my default move, but this non-leather, nav-less

cabin was still quite solid and workable. The Challenger looks big, but I was pleased to parallel park the car with ease, even as my skill in that area is so often made moot by back-up cams. I’m not saying not to opt for the back-up cam, it’s just that you can and should be able to park any Challenger without it; it won’t feel like a land yacht unless you’re switching over from a Smart car (and I’m pretty sure that customer doesn’t exist).

One quick stopover and a couple of vistas that look like the Twin Peaks’ opening credits, and we rolled into Portland International Raceway, eager to greet the Hellcat for the first time. “This is an international raceway,” someone mutters as we trundle in to the humble instruction area. I have no idea where Portland ranks in the pantheon of American racing, but the beauty here is that the track is actually quite challenging — what could be better for such an aptly named car?

There are a couple of things that I find instructive about the Hellcat. First of all, the Hellcat’s immense power is in no small part due to its supercharger, an unreal iron lung that can suck the air out of an average-sized bedroom in 60 seconds. The crank is built to withstand firing pressures of 110 bar (1,595psi). Dodge says that’s like stacking

“i Have no idea WHere Portland ranks in tHe PantHeon of american racing, but tHe beauty Here

is tHat tHe track is actually quite cHallenging.”

The Hellcat has two main party tricks; one is a quarter mile in the 10s, and the other is smoking. Chain smoking...

You can pick from 11 exterior colours including our tester’s rather loud Sublime Metallic Pearl

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Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

five Avengers (the family saloon, not the superheroes) on each piston every two full revolutions. There’s more; the crank damper is tested up to 13,000rpm, and the forged alloy pistons are coupled to powder-forged connecting rods with high-load-capacity bushings and what Dodge calls “diamond-like-carbon-coated piston pins.” It’s as if the engine is built for some outer circle of Dante’s Inferno, which means it ought to do just fine in the Middle Eastern summers.

Orientation for the Hellcat is short and to the point — the car does not like any sudden moves, we’re told. Mat the pedal in track mode, and you’re going to lose traction. Ease off the accelerator — never dump it. Dip the brakes one-fifth, and then go down four-fifths after a short interval. The car wants to carry its unbelievable straightaway pick-up through the turns, but you’ve got to set it up properly.

In many ways, the Hellcat is like an un-911, and the inputs the instructors encourage you to give the car are basically the opposite of what they teach at the Porsche Sport Driving School in Leipzig. I’m not saying either group is wrong, just that the Hellcat is a very different beast (duh) and that it requires a different set of ground rules.

Witness the red and black keys, for example. The red key signifies the need for extreme caution. The black key also requires caution; it’s just mitigated by the fact that the ECU is locked out at 500bhp maximum. There’s also a valet key that further reduces engine output so no one can go all ‘Cameron’s-Dad’s-Ferrari’ on you, no matter how strongly Ferris encourages you to lighten up.

Behind the wheel I’m finding it increasingly hard to lighten up myself. “There are no perfect laps on this track,” my local course instructor informs me, “but there can be some pretty great ones.” Great isn’t even on my

radar when I roll on the throttle for the first time, I just want to keep the tyres from spinning — it is a warm-up lap after all. Coming into the first turn I find that the car brakes evenly and intuitively, but I’ve shaved off far too much speed into turn one, partially in anticipation of the required downshift. I love a good manual transmission, but my track chops are further diminished the more I have to think about what I’m doing. Paddles might lack some of the old-school swagger, but I have to admit that I do better with them. That said, shifting the Hellcat’s manual is so satisfying and robust that it’s hard to care how bad my lap time will be (and it’s pretty bad, to be honest).

Over the past six years of contributing to wheels I have had the good fortune to drive a number of excellent, high-performance vehicles. As with the 911, I’ve often reported back how many modern technology-rich cars make you a better driver than you really are. The Hellcat, in true muscle car style, does not tolerate weakness.

And weak I was. Turn 2 comes immediately out of Turn 1 like a mirror image and, if done right, sets you up for a nearly straight line through Turn 3, perhaps the gentlest arc on the track. But I just can’t seem to hold my speed through this section and it’s not the car’s fault. There’s plenty of grip there, but this is a car that thrives on that

“Paddles migHt lack some of tHe old-scHool sWagger, but i Have to admit tHat i do better WitH tHem.”

Challenger 392 gets electric steering but the SRT Hellcat sticks with a hydraulic-assist system

The Hellcat engine is the first supercharged Hemi V8 motor ever produced by Chrysler

Pirelli P Zero tyres measuring 275/40 ZR20 take plenty of abuse during our test drive

‘Slingshot’ split seven spoke, forged aluminium 9.5in wide wheels are finished in matte black

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Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcar

subtle line between traction and, er, the run-off. My pride is getting the best of me and I just can’t seem to boss the car around. That said, any regret I feel when I blow a turn is immediately in my rear view when I pour it on through the straights.

There’s a long arcing line at Turn 6 that is particularly revealing. The 275/40 ZR20 Pirelli P Zero rubber grips ferociously on the tarmac, but there’s enough power here to upset the tyres nonetheless. Over the next three laps I get better at holding my speed through this section, but it requires every bit of my concentration and very subtle throttle work. I’m not saying I ever mastered it, but unless you are a professional driver, I’m going to go ahead and posit a theorem: if you can master the Hellcat (and it’s going to take more than a day at the track to do so) you’ll be the better for it, whatever you get behind the wheel of.

Turn 8 is my favourite. It’s only 10 or 12 degrees off from a straightaway, but it’s cambered down to the outside and you have to hold the highline about four feet off the wall to keep speed. This is where I can feel the edge most clearly, while keeping my speed up. The Hellcat holds a line impeccably; it’s just not balanced quite like a sportscar despite having a power-to-weight ratio that many would envy. You’re shuttling a big, relatively heavy car around a track and there’s a fine line between perfect balance and, well, not so perfect. The Hellcat, more than most cars I’ve driven, leaves that balance up to you. It’s a style of driving that is equally addictive and intimidating.

By my final lap, one of too many to count, I’m getting the hang of things but I have to admit that I could spend all week honing my

approach. That’s one of my favourite things about the Hellcat, it just makes you want to earn its respect — I can’t think of

a better definition of real personality in a car.

sPecs & rating

Model Challenger SRT Hellcat

engine 6.2-litre V8 supercharged

TRanSMiSSion Eight-speed auto, RWD

Max PoweR 707bhp @ 6,000rpm

Max ToRque 881Nm @ 4,000rpm

ToP SPeed 320kph

0-100kPH NA

lengTH 5,018mmwidTH

1,923mmHeigHT 1,416mm

wHeelbaSe 2,951mmweigHT 2,013kg

on Sale Late 2014

PRiCe Dh220,000(approx.)

oVeRall RaTing

8HigHS

Challenging, addictive and rewarding to drive. Well

developedlowS

Um, maybe that it drains its fuel tank in 13 minutes

flat out? No, that’s probably a ‘high’

“tHat’s one of my favourite tHings about tHe Hellcat, it just makes you Want to

earn its resPect — i can’t tHink of a better definition of real Personality

in a car.”