Sure the horsepower race is alive and well and progressing. The power to weight ratios on sport and muscle cars continue to improve. This is more about competition and less about the Hellcat "not being special anymore." This car will always be "special!" It was and still is a magnificent monster. However, if we want to stay on the top of the heap we either have to trade up and mod our cars.

 

OP,

In my case I'm still and will remain 100% Happy with my ONLY 707 H/P Challenger Hellcat.

In my case I could care less how many Faster cars there are currently and how many will be arriving.

At 73 yrs old I've seen faster and faster and faster cars since the mid 60's so seeing some more to me in my case is totally uneventful.

​

 

I was just asked a similar question by my son today when we took the Hellcat out. I told him a friend of mine already asked me to order him the new 1000 hp Hemi for his Cuda build. (When we are able to). So my son says I need to start modding my car to keep up. Hell, I can’t put down the 707 hp on the street now. Gotta fix that first.

 

I view it more like the 86-87 Grand National. There were faster cars that came out afterwards, but the Turbo Buicks were cheap to mod and had a loyal following. As the Hellcat becomes less “special” people are going to feel less guilty about modding them. There were enough built they should have good aftermarket support for a long time.

 

I see the parallels you mention as well. The 11 to 13 GT500 change was a 20% (662 vs. 550) HP increase while the standard HC versus the RE is 12.7% (797 vs. 707) both with appearance mods.

Just my opinion (since you have asked for thoughts) but I still consider my 16 HC special every time I take a cruise. I'm good with the 16 just the way it is since it's not a track car and is just a back roads pleasure use vehicle for me (hence the M6). Getting 707 HP to the ground without hop and without extensive modifications is already a challenge. Driveshaft, cradle bushings, rear control arms and the differential were under-designed by Dodge in the standard HC cars IMO. The P4D brace does help a lot but I didn't buy this car to extensively modify it - kind of defeats the whole point of a factory warranted 707HP car for me.

I do totally admire the Demon and appreciate that Dodge just keeps killing it as evidenced by the recent monthly sales numbers. I'm also glad for all the Demon owners (and soon to be Redeye owners) that they have acquired the most insanely powered, factory warranted, muscle cars to be produced ever. I absolutely love seeing the MOPAR community competitively representing at the track as well.​

Think I'm good where I am. I'll just keep logging the smiles per gallon in my ho-hum 707HP regular old HC.

 

Not sure if this will go over well. But guys, it’s just a challenger. I know it’s sexy and SRT designed. But our cars our muscle cars, they are inexpensive high horsepower heavyweights. Tons of fun, but these cars are not rare, they are not unreachable for the masses. But that is exactly what makes this car great. Almost anyone can get one, You can keep it stock and go fast and win races, or you have an amazing platform to modify and push the power limits.

Our hellcat is made off of a mass produced assembly line model made for millions. They have imperfections, they are slammed together with a supercharged v8 engine, some other upgraded components and off they go America, enjoy this version of the challenger, a beast, a hellcat, just because we can and just because we all want one.

Enjoy your cat, because just like the gt500 there will always be something faster and better every year. You have to make the most out of your own ride and enjoy it for what it is, Honestly I could care less about a demon, Redeye, 1320, or 426 hellephant, gt 500, Z06, ZR1, ZL1, my hellcat is modified way faster than anything mopar, ford or chevy can put on the market for probably ever. I made the most out of my cat, and it gets faster every year.

 

Be happy with what you have. The answer to you question is yes, but that will be the case for all of mankind. We will continue to have new, faster, "better" as time progresses.

I have a 16 and would love to have a Redeye. Not gonna happen though. Not worth the modest increase of performance to pull the trigger.

 

It’s called MARKETING to the max which keeps the Car companies in business. Competition in the HP wars is at an all time high which how can you not love it? It’s a great time to be of the age to enjoy all the new latest greatest technology. Who here 20-30 years ago could have ever guessed the Muscle Era would come back. I always thought damn I missed it in the late 60’ and early early 70’s. I was to young but damn now it’s just right.

 

Don’t get me wrong guys. I love my hellcat. Mines a rare M6 as well. I have a pulley and tune and make more power than the Redeye and Demon make. Here in Canada the Hellcats are pretty rare still. But soon I’ll get the “oh, it’s just A Hellcat” response. But you never know. With only 100 Redeyes slated for Canada and 300 Demons, our cars will be pretty rare.. for the short while anyways.

R.K.

 

Nothing wrong with the 2012 GT500's.

I swapped out to the larger 2.3 TVS in mine along with a pulley and tune and was pushing more hp/tq than the 13-14's.

 

Not sure if this will go over well. But guys, it’s just a challenger. I know it’s sexy and SRT designed. But our cars our muscle cars, they are inexpensive high horsepower heavyweights. Tons of fun, but these cars are not rare, they are not unreachable for the masses. But that is exactly what makes this car great. Almost anyone can get one, You can keep it stock and go fast and win races, or you have an amazing platform to modify and push the power limits.

Our hellcat is made off of a mass produced assembly line model made for millions. They have imperfections, they are slammed together with a supercharged v8 engine, some other upgraded components and off they go America, enjoy this version of the challenger, a beast, a hellcat, just because we can and just because we all want one.

Enjoy your cat, because just like the gt500 there will always be something faster and better every year. You have to make the most out of your own ride and enjoy it for what it is, Honestly I could care less about a demon, Redeye, 1320, or 426 hellephant, gt 500, Z06, ZR1, ZL1, my hellcat is modified way faster than anything mopar, ford or chevy can put on the market for probably ever. I made the most out of my cat, and it gets faster every year.

View attachment 485451

Don’t exactly agree. They are not inexpensive and not really reachable for the masses. People with these cars have a unique desire for torque, horsepower and speed but they are either born with a silver spoon in their mouth or have worked hard all their lives and earned it or decided to make pretty big sacrifices to own one. It took me over 45 years (and I have always owned super nice and limited production big block Mopars ever since 1969) before I was in a position to rationalize affording a Hellcat. These are special cars and people that have bought one are special people with special desires. SRT has just struck a hell(cat) of a chord with a lot of such people. Just saying...

A12 4 speed, 1972-1995 A winner...that bird never let me down! One of many I have had.

 

Don’t exactly agree. They are not inexpensive and not really reachable for the masses. People with these cars have a unique desire for torque, horsepower and speed but they are either born with a silver spoon in their mouth or have worked hard all their lives and earned it or decided to make pretty big sacrifices to own one. It took me over 45 years (and I have always owned super nice and limited production big block Mopars ever since 1969) before I was in a position to rationalize affording a Hellcat. These are special cars and people that have bought one are special people with special desires. SRT has just struck a hell(cat) of a chord with a lot of such people. Just saying...
View attachment 485491 A12 4 speed, 1972-1995 A winner...that bird never let me down! One of many I have had.

Anybody that can afford a new dually can afford a hellcat. So I put people in that bracket. I’m not saying the minimum wage guy. But the good hardworking American and above can get their hands on one of these.

It definitely is a special car, it wouldn’t get all the looks it does, but valuable, that is a different story. I guess that would be a better topic to discuss with what I said.

The reason I bought my hellcat was because of how special it was and how unique it looks. But from a financial point of view, and resale etc, I wouldn’t be naive enough to think that I would have a collectible or high trade in or resale on this car. These are workhorse cars, not showroom art. Just a different opinion.

 

Nothing wrong with the 2012 GT500's.

I swapped out to the larger 2.3 TVS in mine along with a pulley and tune and was pushing more hp/tq than the 13-14's.

View attachment 485487

And that’s exactly my point and it’s no different then us Hellcat guys adding a pulley and tune to keep up with the greatest new model.

R.K.

 

707...is the new 5.7....never would have guessed it....but i'll never part with my 707

 

These cars are not really for the masses (and I don't think the GT500 was either). Until they're used you don't see Joe Blow being able to afford them easily.

But we're not anything special either. Especially compared to quarter mil plus rides. Like I said before, when I was having the car quartzed - the guys doing the work had Ferraris and other high dollar sports cars in the shop, but the HC got the most stares and most drooling. Know why? This was a car that if they had a good year, they could afford and it was no slouch at all. That's where we stand.

As for the comparison, I think you can make arguments the situation is similar, but like all analogies, it will be flawed. I don't particularly see how the comparison is useful?

 

The Hellcat will always hold its place in history as a special vehicle. Dodge came out waving the middle finger to everybody else and gave us a 707hp Challenger and Charger. From the Hellcat spawned the Demon and then the Redeye. The 2015 Hellcat forever changed the Muscle Car World. I feel I’m fortunate to have a little piece of that history in my 2016 Challenger. There will always be faster cars, but there’s only one Hellcat.

 

The terminator was the first in the supercharged v8 performance category for domestic muscle. That car whooped ass for a while when it was out, quick bolt ons and a tune that thing was hurting allot of feelings, the hellcat is the same deal. Don’t forget the ctsv, the zr1, and the zl1, the gt500 Yeah the hellcat has the most power but it’s nothing unique here.

 

My Hellcat will be special to me until the day they drop that Hellephant into a manual Challenger. Now that would make me envious.

 

How many GT500s or Hellcats do you see on the streets? Rarely any. They’re special cars you don’t see every day, and they stick out from the normal/average SUV, pickup trucks, Toyota’s, Honda’s, Mazda’s, and every other plain boring sedan people drive.

 

I was just asked a similar question by my son today when we took the Hellcat out. I told him a friend of mine already asked me to order him the new 1000 hp Hemi for his Cuda build. (When we are able to). So my son says I need to start modding my car to keep up. Hell, I can’t put down the 707 hp on the street now. Gotta fix that first.

Thank you! That is the truth and my major complaint about the Hellcat from day one. Not only is it lacking in traction from the factory, but thanks to the lack of imagination on the part of the Hellcat designers/engineers, there isn't an ideal fix for this. Had one of those designers simply decided to flare the rear just enough to accommodate 345 section width rear tires (think Viper or Z06) we might have a slim chance of "getting a grip." Can you imagine how bad assed this car would look with factory 345's? I would have gladly paid an extra $10K or more without any complaint. But instead they came up with slapped on, plastic flares as an afterthought. Too little - too late for my taste.

I am running Nitto drag radials but I still feel the need to be extremely conscious of the instant torque available with just a twitch of the throttle. But for the Nitto tires I would have unloaded the Hellcat shortly after buying it. While they are better than the stock tire offerings they just don't put enough rubber on the road to completely handle stock horsepower, let alone 1,000 HP.

 

Thank you! That is the truth and my major complaint about the Hellcat from day one. Not only is it lacking in traction from the factory, but thanks to the lack of imagination on the part of the Hellcat designers/engineers, there isn't an ideal fix for this. Had one of those designers simply decided to flare the rear just enough to accommodate 345 section width rear tires (think Viper or Z06) we might have a slim chance of "getting a grip." Can you imagine how bad assed this car would look with factory 345's? I would have gladly paid an extra $10K or more without any complaint. But instead they came up with slapped on, plastic flares as an afterthought. Too little - too late for my taste.

I am running Nitto drag radials but I still feel the need to be extremely conscious of the instant torque available with just a twitch of the throttle. But for the Nitto tires I would have unloaded the Hellcat shortly after buying it. While they are better than the stock tire offerings they just don't put enough rubber on the road to completely handle stock horsepower, let alone 1,000 HP.

I agree I wish they would have narrowed the rear end to accommodate wider tires. I don't like the bushwaker 4X4 fender flare look either

 

I didn't buy my cat to be special or unique. I grew up in the original muscle car era of the mid to late 60's....I couldn't afford my dream car.....Challenger RT. Later I owned several muscle cars...mostly GM products but realized I also liked the creature comforts of the current models. Along came the Hellcat with the BEST of both worlds....has all of the bells and whistles of any current car and goes faster than any muscle car of the 60's that I ever owned. There will always be "bigger and better" but this Hellcat is about all I can handle!!!

 

Couple 'O Random Thoughts on this...

The 707 Hellcats were making 750-760 stock when on the dyno if memory serves.
It will always be the vehicle that caused the "paradigm shift" for this generation of muscle. I owned a '14 GT500, went to the dark side after an '08 SRT Challenger. It was cool, but...Hellcat!

Admiration for old skool 440. 426, 427, 396, 428, Elephant, Rat, Mouse, Cobra Jet, Magnum, etc is strong despite brand loyalty. When you see, hear, and smell those things it makes you say "yes!"

I timed the marketplace so I did well on both previous Hellcats. As I rapidly approach retirement I will line up the most powerful Mopar I can afford without giving up my house . At this point, since I missed a Demon, it'll be a Redeye if there isn't a gouge going on. Lets see what MY20-21 bring. If there is mark up BS on the Redeye, a Widebody "regular" Hellcat will be just fine and dandy...High impact color y'all

 

Don’t get me wrong guys. I love my hellcat. Mines a rare M6 as well. I have a pulley and tune and make more power than the Redeye and Demon make. Here in Canada the Hellcats are pretty rare still. But soon I’ll get the “oh, it’s just A Hellcat” response. But you never know. With only 100 Redeyes slated for Canada and 300 Demons, our cars will be pretty rare.. for the short while anyways.

R.K.

If you are worried about what others say in respect to your car and HP, you will be never be happy. It appears you are enjoying the ride, no reason not too even when "Its just a HC" If that actually ever happens

 

It was easy for me, because I couldn't stand those wide body fender flares. But once I heard the Red Eye was going to be available in the standard Hellcat Body and probably in PCP, I immediately got worried and sent my car up to Livernois for their 900 HP 93 octane package.

Now I'm back to loving my Hellcat and can't imagine trading it for a Red Eye.

David

 

The way I have perceived this era is me, us, baby boomers worked on the junk they sold us in the late 60s and early 70s. I remember renting houses that had oak trees with big enough limbs to pull engines with. They gave us enough of their knowledge for us to make em perform the way they are now. Except now they are some what inexpensive for the retirees, and we can still work on em. Mine is not the fastest or best looking except if you look in my garage and ask me, hell yea it is.