2015 Dodge Delivers 707 Horsepower in a 4-Door Sedan
Forget what you have read and seen about the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, that the only reason to buy it over the 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat is to save $4,000. Trust me—spend the extra four grand because it is so much a better car.
I’ve had the opportunity to drive both over local streets and on the track: the Portland International Speedway for the Challenger and Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia for the Charger.
The Charger Hellcat felt like the more balanced and planted of the two with its 54:46 front-rear weigh distribution vs. 57.2:42.8 for the Challenger. (Call it a seat-of-the-pants preference for the Charger Hellcat, because I make no proclamations that I am a good enough driver to discern the difference in weight distribution.)
The Charger Hellcat is a definite track beast. But, and this is an important distinction, the Charger Hellcat is an everyday driver. Heck, it can pull duty as a family sedan—something the Challenger can’t do. The Charger even has optional child seats.
The new 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is powered by the new supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V-8 engine. Its 707 horsepower makes it the quickest, fastest, and most powerful production sedan in the world, as well as the most capable and technologically advanced four-door muscle car in America.There’s no German, Asian, or Korean sedan that can match it for hustle.
The unrivaled four-door performance numbers tell an impressive story with an NHRA-certified, quarter mile in 11.0 seconds, 0-100-0 mph in under 13 seconds, and a top speed of 204 miles per hour. My best time on the track was 125 mph. Other journalists cracked 130 mph.
The supercharged V-8 engine is mated to the beefy new TorqueFlite 8HP90 eight-speed automatic transmission. Stomp the accelerator and the Hellcat just eats its way through the gears with forceful downshifts propelling you forward in the blink of an eye. Nothing stands in your way. The TorqueFlite transmission is calibrated to match the Hellcat’s five drive modes, from ultra-smooth in street mode (which I never engaged) to 160 millisecond shifts in track mode.
This new Hellcat engine is Dodge and SRT’s first application of V-8 supercharger technology, featuringa forged-steel crankshaft with induction-hardened bearing surfaces. As Dodge so aptly describes it, “The result is a crank so wellengineeredit can withstand firing pressures of 110 bar (1,595 psi), the equivalent of five family sedansstanding on each piston, every two revolutions.’’ Further enhancements to the engine include premium-grade, heat-treated aluminum-alloy cylinder heads, which are built for superior heat conductivity.
Allow me a moment of automotive geekiness to include this tidbit, too. Additional cooling measures include a low-temperature circuit with two air/coolant heat exchangers integrated into the supercharger housing. This setup is designed to keep air temperatures below 140 degrees Fahrenheit, Dodge says, under extreme ambient conditions, while enabling air flow of up to 30,000 liters per minute. Dodge says the feature is so effective, there is no drop in engine power due to cooling needs even after running hard for 20 minutes in 100-degree heat.
The Charger Hellcat sits on beautiful Slingshot split-seven spoke 20-by-9.5-inch, lightweight forged-aluminum wheels with a standard Matte Black finish or the optional Brass Monkey/Dark Bronze finish. Take the latter set. They’re much more distinctive.
Two new 275/40ZR20 Pirelli P Zero tires provide performance for all seasons. Both Pirelli P Zero Nero and P Zero tires are Y-Plus rated to handle the speeds of the Charger SRT Hellcat.
Just to be politically correct, the Charger offers more than 80 standard and available safety and security features, including new-for-2015 Full-speed Forward Collision Warning-Plus, Adaptive Cruise Control-Plus with Full Stop, Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist, ParkView rear backup camera with dynamic gridlines, and 9-1-1 call/Assist Call.
The newly announced 2015 Dodge Charger SRT 392 model also gets a power boost as horsepower climbs to 485 from 470 for the 392 cubic-inch HEMI V-8, while peak torque jumps to 475 lb.-ft. from 470 lb.-ft. That’s the engine you’re going to find in the Charger ScatPack as well.
Standard on both 2015 Charger SRT models is the largest front-brake package ever offered in a Chrysler Group vehicle, which was introduced on the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat, featuring allnew 390-mm (15.4-inch) Brembo two-piece rotors with six-piston calipers for outstanding heat management and thermal capacity and longevity.
The Charger Hellcat isn’t all about performance. Dodge has stepped up and provided a fairly impressive interior. Is it up to Audi or BMW standards? Frankly no, but its better than any Cadillac or Lincoln interior I’ve seen.
The logical side of my brain knows the ScatPack at $39,995 and no gas guzzler tax vs. the Hellcat at $63,995, including $1,700 gas guzzler tax, makes more sense for 99 percent of drivers. In fact, it’s the version I recommend for the two-door Challenger.
But, the Charger Hellcat is an aspirational vehicle. Higher monthly payments be damned. Lack of track time be damned. Lack of open road where you can wring out its 204mph top speed be damned. Maybe one owner in 100,000 will ever be able to extract from the Charger Hellcat its full capabilities, but that’s no reason not to own one.
2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat
THE BASICS
Price, base (with destination): $64,990 with $995 destination. Fuel economy: 14mpg city/23mpg highway. Drivetrain: 6.2-liter HEMI V8. Body: 4-door, full-size sedan.
THE SPECIFICS
Horsepower: 707. Torque: 650 lb.-ft.Overall length: 198.4 in.Wheelbase: 120.2 in. Height: 58.2 in. Width: 75.0 in. Curb weight: 4,264 lbs.
THE GOOD
An awesome amount of power in a four-door sedan; handling vastly improved; overall design.
THE BAD
Limited ability to exercise its potential; interior, while good, isn’t $64,000 good; fuel economy, because your numbers are bound to be a lot worse.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Dodge has created an absolutely stunning four-door sedan that has no peer for its price and performance
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