Video: Charger SRT Hellcat Asks The Question – How Ya’ Like Me Now?

When the 2015 Dodge Charger was revealed, many Mopar enthusiasts cried foul. It was bad enough that they had learned to accept the two extra doors on the Charger nameplate, but what was really grinding on them was that the facelift for the new Charger was a little too reminiscent of the new Dart. So for the past several months, we’ve heard the complaints, and saw the posts where people assured everyone, “I’ll never buy a full size Dart.”

2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

Here are some quick facts:

  • The most powerful sedan – ever: 707 horsepower
  • The quickest sedan – ever: 11.0 1/4 mile
  • The fastest sedan – ever: 204 mph top speed
  • Only the second car to receive a production supercharged Hemi from Chrysler
Well, that was then, and this is now. Because although we knew that the supercharged Hellcat Hemi was going to also find a home in the Charger, what we didn’t know was how different it would look. And we approve.

When we spoke to Ralph Gilles a few weeks ago and showed him what we thought it might look like, his answer was simple and encouraging. “Not even close,” he told us. And that meant that the Hellcat Charger was going to look a lot better than we had hoped.

Hailey Regnier, of Hemet, California, is a Mopar enthusiast to the nth degree, having taken her love of the Dodge Charger from her first car, a 2008 V6-powered Charger, to her current upgrade, a 2008 SRT Hemi Charger. She loves her Charger, and spends lots of time pampering it, but she also drives it pretty hard, too.

When the 2015 Charger first debuted, her thoughts were that she would stick with her current steed and forget about the new Charger. But that all changed with the introduction of the 2015 Charger SRT Hellcat today on the Drive SRT website, she’s now sitting in her beloved Charger chanting to herself that she can’t really afford the Hellcat Charger, and apologizing to her beloved 2008 Charger SRT for coveting another. She readily admits, “That didn’t take me long.”

The Charger Hellcat shares a similar hood to the Challenger, and it looks great here.

We kind of have the feeling that many a naysayers will share in Hailey’s thoughts and make the transition from hating it to loving it. Gilles was right, our rendering was “not even close” and we’re so glad about that. We think that the SRT Hellcat facelift is exactly what the 2015 Charger needed, and it looks great.

The new Hellcat Charger is now our favorite sedan; chalk another one up for Dodge – they have the most powerful musclecar in America, and now the most powerful sedan in the world. And that’s not bad, not bad at all.

The Hellcat Charger, so far, isn’t going to benefit from a manual transmission, but the super quick shifting 8-speed TorqueFlite is a transmission that CEO Tim Kuniskis feels will make a believer out of many – including Jay Leno. With a street setting to provide fuel economy, and a track mode to deliver 160 millisecond shifting, we can’t wait to get our hands on a Hellcat Charger. Do you hear us, Mr. Kuniskis?

That’s 6.2 liters of Hellcat able to pump out 707 horsepower in a four-door sedan at almost 12 psi. Love it.

The engine is the same beauty that’s in the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat, a 6.2L supercharged Hemi putting out 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. The engine is comprised of about 91% new components, built for strength the handle the nearly 12 psi of boost that the new supercharger is putting out.

Also standard on the Hellcat Charger, and shared with the Challenger, is the big, six-piston front brake calipers clamping down on 15.4-inch brake rotors – the largest brake rotors Chrysler has ever installed on a production car. In the rear, 13.8-inch brake rotors help to slow this beast down in a hurry.

For those who like to race their car at the track, SRT says that between the given SRT drive modes and the many driver-selectable modes, there are over 125 potential configurations while switching between street, sport, and track modes.

The interior is much like the Hellcat Challenger, and provides an awesome set of paddle-shifters for the enthusiast who wants that manual shift feel. It’s truly starting to sound like we’re describing something other than a four-door sedan, isn’t it?

Color choices for the Hellcat Charger will be: TorRed, Redline Pearl, B5 Blue, Bright White, Billet Silver, Granite Crystal, Ivory Pearl, Jazz Blue, Phantom Black, and Pitch Black. Interior colors include Black Laguna, Sepia Laguna, Black Napa, and Ruby Red/Black.

Top: The big brakes will be more than capable of slowing this beast down.
Bottom: The interior is sporty and has all of the accoutrements of a musclecar with a luxury feel.

Like we said before, whether you park your car in the blue oval or under the bowtie, these are exciting times. Welcome to horsepower wars part deux, when Detroit said enough is enough and put their power where our right foot is. Musclecars belong to the big three, they belong to us, and this new crop of musclecars is putting smiles on our faces all over again.

There’s plenty of real estate for sucking in air and feeding the supercharger.

We already hear that Ford is getting ready to take a stance, and we welcome it, even from Chevy. We heard they already have something in the works, but other sources say their camp is sitting idle.

Either way, we want to see this trend continue, it doesn’t matter who has the most power or the best handling, we just need more power because you only go around once in life and you might as well do it with a red key. Amiright?

Enjoy the gallery of the new, 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat below, and look for a future article and hopefully some burnout videos from Ralph Gilles in the Hellcat Charger. You know he wants to do it, and we want him to do it, too. We hear he’s at the Woodward Cruise this weekend, let’s hope we can get some video of him in a Hellcat Charger!

About the author

Michael Harding

Michael is a Power Automedia contributor and automotive enthusiast who doesn’t discriminate. Although Mopar is in his blood, he loves any car that looks great and drives even faster.
Read My Articles

Hot Rods and Muscle Cars in your inbox.

Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Street Muscle, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE!

Free WordPress Themes
Street Muscle NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

streetmusclemag

We'll send you the most interesting Street Muscle articles, news, car features, and videos every week.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

Street Muscle NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

streetmusclemag

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...


fordmuscle
Classic Ford Performance
dragzine
Drag Racing
chevyhardcore
Classic Chevy Magazine

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...

  • fordmuscle Classic Ford Performance
  • dragzine Drag Racing
  • chevyhardcore Classic Chevy Magazine

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

streetmusclemag

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Street Muscle - The Ultimate Muscle Car Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Loading