Hell Hath No Fury Like the 707-Horsepower 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

Muscle cars are all about the numbers, and Dodge has just issued a triple-digit warning to the rest of the ponycar herd. Packing 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 “Hellcat” engine is the very stuff Saturday night legends are made of. But don’t take our word for it—watch Dodge brand boss Tim Kuniskis set the record straight in the exclusive video below.

Installed in the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, this wild engine has the loftiest power figure of any V-8 engine in Chrysler history. To put it numerically, the Hellcat brings 45 more horsepower than the last Shelby Mustang GT500, 127 more horsepower than the last Camaro ZL1 we tested, and—in what may be viewed as an act of sacrilege by some—67 more hp than the V-10 in the current Viper.

We’ve previously hinted at the otherworldly power potential of the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi, but let us bring you up to speed on how Dodge conjured up those 700-plus horses without selling its soul: Essentially a de-stroked version of the 6.4-liter Hemi, the supercharged 6.2-liter uses a forged-steel crank with hardened bearing surfaces, forged pistons, and powdered forged rods with beefier bushings and carbon-coated pins. The heat-treated aluminum heads are made of a higher-grade, higher-cost alloy to put up with the hard thermal cycling that owners of a 700-plus-horsepower car are likely to put them through. Boost comes from an IHI screw-type supercharger, the charge kept reasonably cool by dual water-to-air intercoolers. A nearly straight-through exhaust—with electronic valves that open up for more sound—helps the spent exhaust gases exit. Grunt gets channeled through either the Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual or a TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic, and it is then routed to the rear wheels via an uprated driveshaft, axles, and a rear differential with additional cooling.

We still don’t have any word on pricing; whatever the cost, make sure to leave some room in the budget for a few extra sets of rear tires.

Source: www.caranddriver.com