The last time I went 0-80 in less than five seconds was on my motorcycle, and that was no sissy bike. The Yamaha FZR 1000 was king of the hill in the early 90’s; it was a 1000cc 20-valve inline 4 that redlined at 12,500 rpm and that will get you places. 0-60 in under 3 seconds, and it shot me through the 1/4 mi in low 11’s at nearly 120mph. Very hard to do that in a car and nearly impossible to do that on 4 wheels for mid 5-figures. Until now.
Let’ start with the price, $60k. That’s only $84 per horsepower – for reals motorcycle territory! Back in the 90’s liter bikes were all around $12k and had a bit over 140 ponies ($85/hp). Add 26mpg freeway and you’ve got serious value packed into this car. Did I mention that its 707 fire-breathing stallions makes it do mid 10-second quarter mile times w/ drag slicks at sea level? Bye bye P85D, AWD can’t save you now.
See that little fluid tank in the upper left? That’s exclusively for the twin intercoolers. You can put your hand right on that tank after a good burn and it will still feel room temperature. Post-boost the system does its job at getting the air down to a nice 100°F down from about 220 before it hits the heat sync.
Interestingly, the rear tires are only 285’s and so are the front. I would have thought a tail-wagger like this would have gone with something like 315’s to try and keep the back end under control. Guess you can rotate the tires now.
Appropriately, the Hellcat has many, many throwback cues like original Mopar orange on the valve covers and cast-iron block. One of the headlights has been hollowed out to make room for the unobstructed ram-air inlet, and the battery is on the rear passenger side tire to give an extra 50 lbs on the torque twist wheel.
Nods to modern convenience include a huge touch screen display with performance presets or fully customizable mode. The exhaust note is raspy and full-bodied thanks to an electronically actuated valve making Hellcat straight piped at full throttle thanks. Being a BMW guy I immediately noticed the Harman Kardon name gleaming from the two 12″ subs in the trunk – the same company that does premium sound for the Bavarians. Also eco mode will knock you down to 400hp and get you crossover-like freeway gas mileage.
Only 2400 were graciously handed over to customers this first run so you’ll have to wait your turn. If you know much about 1960’s hot rods you’ll eat up every inch of this car and fall in love. Romping on the throttle is instant gratification at any speed and you’ll be very, yet pleasantly surprised when you take a corner. It’s every muscle car lovers dream – whoop-ass straight line performance (make no mistake, this is a 200mph car), outstanding streetability, and big value.
Hellcat is a demon on the track and an angel in the street.
