Challenger SRT Hellcat Official Info

Good Hellcat driving review by Fast Lane.

2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat First Drive Review: The new Muscle Car Standard? - YouTube

 

he first Hellcat, specially painted Stryker Red (a Viper color) will be auctioned off for charity at Barret-Jackson.

For details, read this article.

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/very-first-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat-goes-barrett-170051519.html

 

Jay Leno drives the Hellcat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWMjR3r-nsI

 

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis Answers Your 2015 Hellcat Challenger Questions (while sitting in a Hellcat)
Written by: Elana Scherr on July 25 2014

Dodge is pretty proud of the ‘Cat, and of all the new model Challengers, enough so that Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis brought a bright red Hellcat and a sleek silver Scat Pack to the HOT ROD studio to show them off. We mentioned the visit on the HRM Facebook page, and offered to ask Tim your questions. There were a ton of responses ranging from “Will you give me one?” to “Why is Dodge suck? (sic)” Those are silly questions. We didn’t ask them. But we did go through and find some questions that we also wanted to hear more about, and threw those at Tim. Here are some of his answers.

HRM: But how about the AWD part? What do you think of AWD? Could we make an AWD Challenger?
TK: AWD would be awesome. The Charger has the capability of being AWD, the question is, can it handle the power of this (he waves at the Hellcat). For the Challenger, the floorplan is different (than the Charger). That’s a massive job, to stamp new sheetmetal.

HRM: How will you make cylinder, cam, and intake options more readily available and mechanically allowable from the typical consumer and drivers point of view?
TK: We launched the Scat Pack packages at SEMA, Stage 1 (CAI, cat-back exhaust, oil filter, ECU reflash) is certified. Stage 2 is coming. We’ll have cams, heads, and controller. If there’s demand, we’ll look at something like this (again, he gestures at the Hellcat). As far as the aftermarket, our controllers are very cryptic, and it’s become a problem for us. That’s why we launched the Scat Pack.

HRM: How much for a factory installed roll cage for the Hellcat?
TK: Never, liability. As soon as you do that you have to re-crashtest the car.

HRM: Will the new engine be available in the Charger?
TK: A lot of people ask that. (Ed note: Rumor mill says yes, and Tim didn’t say no)

HRM: Why didn’t you put wider rubber under it?
TK: The tires are 275/40ZR20 Pirellis. We went with 9.5-inch wide rim, different offset than the Scat Pack. The Scat Pack (392) has a 9-inch wheel, and you can see that it’s tucked in a little. The Hellcat is literally flush with the wheelwell. We hemmed the rim of the wheelwell on the new Challenger, all of them, you could put wide tires on the V6 now. The 9.5-inch wheel, the 275, that was the biggest we could put in there and still pass all of our turn testing. The aftermarket will put 305s on it no problem.
HRM: Will V6 model Challengers, and Chargers in general ever be offered with a manual trans?
TK: Every other Challenger engine package does, but not the V6.

HRM: Will there be a future for the Hellcat? Is it a limited production car?
TK: This one I love, because I’m so pissed about this. Someone wrote an article and said, ‘F Dodge, they built this awesome car but they are only gonna build 1200 of them and I’ll never be able to get one,’ Bullshit. We never said that! I don’t know where the guy got that information. The Hellcat is not limited production. We’ll see what the demand is, but definitely not limited to 1200.

HRM: Have you ever considered making a two-door Charger or convertible Challenger?
TK: No. The reason why is the Charger is an amazing car for us, we sell 100,000 of those a year, because it doesn’t fit the mold of anything else that is a full-size sedan. Nothing else is like it in its segment. I’m not messing with that. That’s why this is different than a Camaro or a Mustang. I don’t want to compete with Camaro or Mustang. I want people who are looking at midsize cars to go hey, those are cool.

HRM: How is the Viper going to respond to the new Vette?
TK: We’ll see, but really, who wins with this horsepower stuff? We do, the customers. The enthusiasts.

HRM: Has the frame for the Hellcat Challenger been modified by the factory to accommodate the horses?
TK: No, the only thing is the Independent Rear Suspension. The differential has a four-point mounting system rather than a three-point system to hold up to the power, but the rest of the chassis was very strong already.

HRM: Is it true that you guys could of made the new Viper more powerful if not for Ferrari?
TK: No.

HRM: What kind of car do you drive?
TK: My personal car is a ’71 challenger, an R/T. Right now I drive one of these, the Hellcat, as my work car.

HRM: Why are the cars so heavy?
TK: Sound deadening, airbags, technology, cars are heavier now, but also much safer.


Read more: Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis Answers Your 2015 Hellcat Challenger Questions (while sitting in a Hellcat) - Hot Rod Magazine Blog
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