Hellcat. Just the name itself evokes images of laying waste to everything on the street. The name is so dirty that the State of Ohio won’t even consider a vanity license plate “HELLCAT” because it finds it offensive. Yes, 707hp is offensive in a very good way, but will it appear in the next SRT Charger? If we were a magic eight ball, signs would definitely be pointing to yes.
During the big Investor Day on May 6th, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis outlined the plans for his brand in the coming years. There was a slide showing the future of each of the models of Dodge and if they were going to have a SRT variant. As you can see in the above image, the Charger also has “RWD S/C V8” attached to the model. Bring on the Hellcat!
In the past, Chrysler Group has shared their high performance engines across different models. The same engine that’s in the Chrysler 300 SRT8 is available in the current Charger SRT8. The same applies for the Jeep Grand Cherokee. To save money, Chrysler Group puts the engine in as many variants as possible. Also, it makes it convenient for the buyer. They don’t have to select performance, they just have to select the body they want their performance in.
That’s why we believe that the SRT Hellcat engine featured prominently will make a debut in the Charger in the near future. Even though the Charger is expected to go on sale in October (see image above of timeline), you’ll notice that the SRT Charger isn’t slated to go on sale until January of 2015.
Also, you can’t argue with the above spy shots from Motor Authority as looking like they’re disguising the Viper-inspired hood scoop.
Once the hype of the Challenger Hellcat dies down we would expect to see more information about the Charger variant. Also, while it’s possible that they may neuter the engine in the Charger, we’d find that unlikely. We assume it’d take more work for Dodge to de-tune the engine for the Charger rather than just leave it alone. A 707hp American sedan would make more power than most other sedans in the world. Why wouldn’t Dodge want to make that claim?
Imagine if Dodge sold the SRT Hellcat Charger to law enforcement agencies? That’d be one fast police cruiser, and speeders around the world, including Dubai, would need to watch out! Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available and check out everything you need to know about the SRT Hellcat engine inside the Challenger.
Chad Kirchner is a freelance automotive journalist with a sincere passion for the industry and helping people. He’s a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association and the Texas Auto Writers Association. When not writing about the latest automotive news or vehicles, you can catch him at car shows around the country. Be sure to check him out on social media, including Google+ and Twitter.
