Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat unleashed

DODGE has revealed its new top-spec Challenger in the form of the SRT Hellcat, which will be the most powerful Challenger available when it goes on sale in the US later this year.

Bringing the fight to its contemporary muscle-car peers, Dodge has fitted the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat with a supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi V8.

Power figures are yet to be confirmed, but expect the Hellcat to make well over 600 horsepower (450kW), making it the most potent V8 engine Dodge has produced.

Drive is fed to the rear wheels through either a reinforced six-speed manual, or a new eight-speed automatic, while stopping power is provided by massive 15.4-inch discs and Brembo six-piston calipers.

The Hellcat is easy to differentiate from the standard Challenger SRT thanks to a gaping front bonnet scoop, inspired by the first-generation Dodge Viper, flanked by two functional air extractors that suck hot air out of the engine bay.

Unfortunately, the Hellcat is being produced in left-hand drive only, so it won’t officially imported, but Chrysler Australia corporate communications director Karla Leach told us there is hope for the future.

“The only option for us to take it as RHD would be in the next generation of the Challenger, which is about 18 months to two years away, so it’s a medium-term proposition for us,” she said.

“Given the change in the Australian market, if we could get it at a reasonable price and a good spec, we’ll definitely want to take it.”

Production on the Challenger SRT Hellcat is set to commence in the latter half of 2014.