Rumbling under the hood of our Scat Pack 392 is a naturally aspirated 6.4 litre SRT Hemi V8 pumping out 485 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque, which, in any world, is a lot of power. If you want to kick it up a notch, you could opt for the Challenger SRT Hellcat with its 6.2 litre supercharged Hemi V8 delivering 717 hp and 656 lb-ft of torque. But if you want to go all out and get the top of the line Challenger, that would be the SRT Hellcat Redeye which generates 797 hp and 707 lb-ft of torque from its 6.2 litre supercharged Hemi SRT V8. The SRT Hellcat Redeye is the fastest and most powerful muscle car ever produced, according to Dodge.
We really love the fact that the shifter leans so far forward, and to the left. It feels reminiscent of the positioning of the shifter in the legendary AC Cobras. This would be quite a different driving experience in an automatic equipped Challenger. Yes, lap times around a race track would likely be quicker using an auto, and fuel economy would typically be better, but driving this car with the manual transmission makes each outing feel special with a throwback aura.
On a serious but related note, an attempted carjacking in Toronto was thwarted because the teenaged carjackers did not know how to drive a manual transmission. Thankfully the driver was OK, the car was not stolen and the young perpetrators were arrested.
Interestingly enough, the 5.7 litre Hemi with 375 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque, is Canada’s best-selling V8. It can accelerate the R/T from 0-100 km/h in the 5 second range. The V6 Pentastar equipped 305 hp and 268 lb-ft of torque SXT and GT models will hit 100 km/h in about 6 seconds.
We always ask ourselves if we are going to miss the car we are testing when it’s gone. We miss this car already and can’t wait to get behind the wheel of our next Dodge Challenger. Every drive in this performance monster felt special. With the push of the start/stop button and the firing up of that V8 engine, to the engagement of first gear and sending all of that power and torque to the huge rear wheels and tires. This car delivered such a fun, visceral driving experience every time.
We would really like to try an all-wheel drive Challenger SXT or GT in the winter. Fitted with a set of snow tires, we assume it would be a blast to drive. Yes, it would only be powered by a 6-cylinder 305 hp engine, but we would love to see the look on the faces of fellow drivers as they saw a big Torred or Go Mango Challenger throwing snow up in the air from all four of its corners.
It is great that Dodge are offering so many variations of the Challenger. We hope they don’t stop anytime soon.
Δ