Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Chrysler, Dodge



Hold onto your butts. "600-plus horsepower" is what we were told to expect from the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT with its 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 engine. But as we've just learned, those were incredibly conservative numbers. Dodge has officially announced that the range-topping Challenger will hit the asphalt with 707 - seven hundred and seven - horsepower, making it the "most powerful muscle car ever."

Of course, 707 hp is only part of the story, as the Hellcat has also been confirmed to produce 650 pound-feet of torque. All that power will run exclusively to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission that differs from other Challengers. The new gearbox, 8HP90 (rather than the 8HP70) is "upgraded to handle the extra power and torque," says Dan Reid, SRT's manager of product design and motorsports.

We certainly hope you're prepared to spend a ton of money replacing tires.

There's more news with this announcement, though. Like the Track Key that Ford offered on the Mustang Boss 302, the Challenger SRT Hellcat will also come with two key fobs - one red, one black. The former allows the driver to unleash the full 707 hp, while the black key limits its holder to just - just - 500 horsepower and an as-yet undisclosed amount of torque. When we half-jokingly asked Reid when we would see this engine in the Viper, Reid would only say "It would require a ton of engineering." Bummer. We've previously heard that the engine is too wide, so we wouldn't bet on such a model seeing the light of day, especially when it would probably embarrass the car's current ten-cylinder offering.

Pricing will be released "over the next month or so."

This thing looks to be an absolute monster, and we can't wait to hit the drag strip. Scroll down for the official press blast, as well as a short video.Continue reading 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has 707 glorious horsepower [w/video]

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has 707 glorious horsepower [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Jul 2014 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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