[Xylander]

The GTR was a fast car 15 years ago when it came out. These days they're just glorified AWD Altimas. My 2020 HC raced multiples from a dig and from a roll and I couldn't tell the difference between racing an Altima or a GTR. They both go backwards. They might yank a car or so on a hole shot, but they can't hang with even a base Hellcat for more than 500-800ft or so.

As for twisty handling on the street... pfft. I wouldn't track my Hellcat or Redeye on a circuit course for any other reason other than to have a laugh. These cars handle like pigs, even if you spend thousands on handling components and aero pieces. On any kind of twisty race, street or track, the Hellcat is not the right tool for the job. It's about like trying to use a bowling ball to nail roof shingles.

 

[Xylander]

Reminds me of the video of the hellcat on the Nurburgring with that great instructor. It’s not meant for a gran turismo race but possible with proper tires, enough skill and determination.

A good driver can do a lot of things, but there's not much you can do with a Hellcat. He could hustle it around well, but the time at the end is what matters. I don't recall what his time was. I just know that in my hands, when I tracked my 2020 HC for fun on the same day I ran my Elise Cup R on the same track, the results were outright hilarious. If you were to put a newbie in the Cup R that has just a basic understanding of race driving, they'd beat me 100% of the time with me in the 'Cat.

I like to use the Talladega Gran Prix track as my litmus test. It's a small motorcycle track they open to cars a few times a month, and it's right up the road from my dad's house in N. Alabama, so I get to drive it 5-6x a year. I tracked my HC there 2x in 2021. One time was just for fun, and I was averaging something like 1:20 lap times (the Mustang S550 course record at the time was a 1.07). That day was an open drive day, so no official times, but I also had my Cup R there and it pulled 3 back to back 1:03 times (which was close to the overall course record from a C5 Z06 at 1:01), fully race modified as my Elise was). Talladega Gran Prix raceway is a small, technical track. The worst track imaginable for a Hellcat without any real big straights. Either way, getting demolished by Miatas and Elises by over 17 seconds is not my idea of fun. Now, put me on Circuit of the Americas or Sebring and I'll beat those midgets all day long.

If you're really pushing the Hellcat on a course like this, you're sideways almost the entire time. Looks cool, it's fun as hell, but it's sloppy. My biggest regret of recent memory is not being able to get the C8 up there on a set of Cup 2s. I was planning on trying to run an official try at a lap record there, but my C8 was a dog and I couldn't get the transmission to hold together. The first time I dropped the trans was on a road trip from Tallahassee to my dad's place to run the C8 on that track, but it threw its first trans CEL on the way up there about an hour from my house, so I turned around and limped all the way back home. That's the closest my C8 ever got to a race track.

1.4mi track, it's a beginner/intermediate level course with variable elevation changes and some of those sweepers are a little tricky for a big power car due to the braking points ( turns 2/3 and 8/9):