Because the Demon was a one and done and the Hellcat only made 707-horsepower, the crazy minds at Dodge SRT have birthed another Hellcat baby – the Redeye – making an outrageous 797 horsepower.
Since its triumphant return over a decade ago, Dodge has done a brilliant job of keeping its retro-styled muscle car relevant without putting it through a complete redesign. A slew of variants through the years offering more and more power have fueled the Challenger’s sales which now exceed the Camaro’s. And I’ve driven almost all of them but this one is the most over-the-top. Its name is a mouthful but each part is significant; this is the SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody…a Demon-possessed supercharged Challenger that ratchets up the Hellcat’s output and broadens its stance with high-performance rubber that’s over an inch wider. The new Redeye models go faster capable of a 203mph top speed and a 10.8 second ¼ mile at 131 when equipped with the $6,000 Widebody Package. Overall, the fender flares add 3.5” to the car’s width to fit the 305 Pirellis and there’s a Widebody competition suspension for improved handling. Bottom line – this is now the top dog Challenger and it’s every bit as devilish as it sounds.
The regular Hellcat sees a power bump this year too, now up to 717 horsepower. But this high-output version contains a lot of Demon bits like the Power Chiller to lower the intake air temperature and the After-Run Chiller that keeps the supercharger’s coolant temperature in check once the engine shuts down.
The new dual snorkel hood packs in the air while reducing its intake temperature by 4 degrees and this cool Air Catcher headlamp furthers the flow. An upgraded torque converter for the 8-speed auto does a better job of transmitting the power. This is a transcendent muscle car with modern engineering that permits it to run casually around town, law-abiding and tame AND then go completely unfettered gonzo at the press of a button.
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