Is the Dodge Challenger Hellcat still worth it in 2021? It’s been out for almost six years now and it’s still stupidly crazy even in 2021. The standard Challenger Hellcat still has 717hp and 656 lb-ft of torque which is more than what a Porsche 991 GT2RS has. The top model is the redeye which has 797hp and 707lb-ft of torque which is more powerful than a Lamborghini Aventador SV-J. However, the Hellcat has always been criticized for just how heavy it is and how hard it is to drive. Its traction isn’t the best and its dynamics are from the stone age.
The Hellcat starts at $58,995 which is around $1000 less than a new Corvette C8. For that, you get more power, a supercharger, two more seats, and a bigger trunk. However, it’s nowhere near as refined at all, and in fact, it feels more so much like an old 1960s muscle car which in some cases is great but in other cases, it’s a huge pitfall. So should you spend that much on a car that is mainly inspired by a car made in the 1960s or should you look elsewhere?
The Hellcat In a Nutshell
In a nutshell, the Hellcat is one of the last proper muscle cars still on sale today. It was launched in 2015 mainly because FCA (people who own Dodge) wanted to. They felt like it was possible and they wanted to make a statement that would pretty much shock the car industry. The infamous Hellcat engine is now seen across many Dodge and other FCA models such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Hellcat engine is a 6.2 liter Hemi Supercharged V8 and it’s one of the craziest engines ever made. At standard, these cars had 707hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. Nowadays, Dodge is getting 808hp and 717 lb-ft of torque from that engine in the Demon, and Texas-based tuner Hennesey is getting 1035hp out of that engine and 948 lb-ft of torque.
The Challenger Hellcat is more suited to the drag strip. In fact, you can actually set up your car to do the perfect drag launch for minimal wheelspin. The standard Hellcat shoots to 60 in around 3.6 seconds and does a 1/4 drag strip time of 10.96 seconds which is insane. This car then is essentially a race car for the road.
The Hellcat though is a very traditional muscle car. It doesn’t have any of the gizmos the Mustang and the Camaro have. It has pretty much a 1960s design. The chassis is from a 1990s Mercedes E-Class, the suspension is very hard, the car is huge and it has no traction at all. It also weighs 2027kg which is a lot.
The Hellcat has been around since 2015 and we expect it to go out of production in the next five years since it’s really not an economical car. It does not conform to any environmental green peace scheme at all. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that the Hellcat is a car completely opposite to the likes of electric cars. It’s the environmentalist’s nightmare hence why it will die very soon. However, it’s still on sale today, and is it still worth it?
It Has an MSRP Of $58,995. Good Value For Money or is There Better Cars Out There?
The Challenger Hellcat starts at $58,995 which sounds quite cheap for a car with 717hp and 656 lb-ft of torque. It has four seats, a big trunk, a huge engine, and menacing looks. Normally a car with 717hp and 656 lb-ft of torque will cost double, triple, or quadruple the base price of a base Hellcat. Muscle cars have always been pretty cheap though compared to European cars and there is a huge reason why.
The Challenger Hellcat is based on the same platform as the Chrysler 300. The Chrysler 300 is based on the old Mercedes E-Class from the 1990s. To put that in perspective. It’s a 700+hp car with stupid torque figures on a chassis from a 1996 sedan used as the main taxi car in Germany. Just how modern does that sound? You’re driving a car that’s based on a car made in the stone ages. It’s a chassis that’s almost 25 years old. Hence why the handling despite the Bilstein suspension is catastrophically bad.
It’s a fat car too weighing in at over 2 tonnes. That’s a lot and again it affects the refinement of the car immensely. The ride isn’t great, it’s a noisy car and it also drinks a lot of juice.
For similar money, you can have the new C8 Corvette. That car is winning all of the awards this year and it’s faster than the Hellcat to 60, it handles better, looks more exotic, better inside, better built, etc. You also have cars like the Porsche Boxster, BMW M2, etc for similar money. They may be slower and have less power but they handle so much better than the Hellcat.
However, the Hellcat is probably the most muscular muscle car on sale today. It’s brash, it’s loud, it’s a car that doesn’t care about other people’s opinions. It’s a car that is mental. The Hellcat is aggressive and it’s more masculine than a bottle of Original Old Spice aftershave. It’s a scary car and it even has air intakes in its headlight unit. It takes a lot of balls to drive this thing as it’s RWD and stupidly powerful. If your a bad or inexperienced driver, stay away from this thing as it’ll kill you.
The Hellcat is a must-have if you love drag racing. It’s the car to have as even stock this thing is pretty much a ten-second car. It’s made for drag racing and the widebody packs are equipped with better tires for drag racing too.
The Challenger below this is the R/T Scat-Pack Widebody and which has 485hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. It can achieve a 0-60 in around 4.4 seconds. Though the R/T Scat Pack is a laughing stock compared to the Hellcat. It’s essentially the desperate unsuccessful younger sister to a full-blown pop-star. It’s a nice car but at a base of $45,995, we would rather something else or at least a used Hellcat.
The Hellcat is the only model of the Challenger you should get. It is so deadly and so aggressive and no other car can compare. It’s old-school and it’s the last taste of old-school muscle before everything becomes powered by batteries.
So Should You Buy One?
Don’t buy one new. A used one will be cheaper and just as fast. It’s a car though that all car enthusiasts should own as it’s just so crazy. There is nothing else like it out there and with all these new emissions things coming in and environmental schemes, it may just be the best time right now to get yourself one of the best cars ever made in history.
It’s a must-have and it’s such a badass. It’s a car that puts middle fingers up to modern society and it does what it wishes to. It’s a car for the nonconformists and when it’s gone we really will miss it.
Just get one whilst you can. That’s all we can say.
Featured image credits via: motor1.com