Apocalypse Now? The Dodge Hellcat Charger
With the announcement that Dodge will bring forth the apocalypse Hellcat Charger, where does that leave Bavaria in the mighty sedan horsepower wars? Well frankly, it leaves them in the dust.
The BMW M5 doesn’t come close to the power numbers of the Hellcat, and the E63 AMG is closer, but just doesn’t have that extra 30 horsepower that the Hellcat manages.
The 0-60 times are close with the E63 edging it out the Hellcat by .2 seconds, but that manages to pull those numbers because of its all-wheel drive system. The Hellcat is rawer, more pure with its RWD setup. It will be interesting to see if the two German brands respond to this shot across their respective bows.
Where the two Germans really fall down is in price. Both the M5 and E63 are well over a hundred grand, but the Charger and Challenger are going to be priced around $60,000. That’s one big discount compared to the other two.
Sure the Hellcat won’t be as refined or as well-mannered as the other two, but do you really buy a super sedan for it being well-mannered? Or do you buy it to do ruddy big burnouts and act like a hoon when you should be taking the kids to daycare! It’s obvious you buy it for the later.
So how will the Germans take this shot over their respective bows? Only time will tell, but if there is a country that can produce ridiculously powerful sedans, it’s Germany. Your move Axis Powers.