Dodge Charger goes to Hellcat

The tire-smoke had barely cleared from Dodge's launch of the 707-horsepower Challenger SRT Hellcat when Chrysler's designated performance brand backed up its claim to muscle car dominance with the reveal of a parallel Charger model that promises to be the King Kong of four-door sedans.

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat will make its public debut this weekend at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit and suburbs, which typically attracts more than 1-million spectators and 40,000 vehicles on its 26-km route.

Dodge says the Charger SRT Hellcat has run an NHRA-certified quarter mile in 11.0 seconds on street tires (even quicker than its Challenger counterpart)and has a top speed of 328 km/h (204 mph). According to the company, it is the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan in the world, as well as the most technologically advanced four-door muscle car in North America. (Are there any others?)

Like its Challenger sibling, the Charger SRT Hellcat is powered by a Supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi Hellcat V-8 engine that produces 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, mated to a heavy-duty, three-mode TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission.

Offsetting all that muscle are equally monstrous brakes with 39-cm (15.4-inch) Brembo two-piece rotors and six-piston calipers. Pirelli P Zero performance tires on 20 x 9.5-inch wide forged aluminum wheels and an adaptive-damping three-mode suspension system help put the power to the road.

The Charger SRT Hellcat has a distinctive look to communicate its brute power with heat extractors in the hood, unique front and rear fascias and LED lighting in both front and rear. The company says almost every body panel has been resculpted to differ from those of lesser models.

Model-specific interior touches include an SRT three-spoke, flat-bottom steering wheel, 7-inch reconfigurable digital gauge cluster, 8.4-inch touchscreen, Nappa leather and Alcantara suede seating, as well as a choice of four new premium trim and color combinations

Along with its Challenger sibling, the Charger SRT Hellcat will be built in Canada at Chrysler's Brampton, Ontario, Assembly plant. Production will begin in the first quarter of 2015.