A New Hellcat Charger Collectable Coming from Greenlight

The folks from Greenlight Collectables have announced that they will soon offered a highly detailed Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat as part of their Series 16 GL Muscle lineup, complete with an accurate interior and engine bay. This is the first higher end toy of either Hellcat car and with Greenlight being the leader and premium die cast cars, I expect this to be one great looking 64^th scale Dodge sedan when they hit shelves in September.

Hot Wheels was the first toy company to roll out small scale versions of the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, but these cars aren’t all that detailed and they don’t actually say Hellcat anywhere on the car or package. They do have the Hellcat head on the fender and on the undercarriage, but they aren’t actually branded as hellcat cars.

The Hellcat cars are so popular among enthusiasts that when people see the Hellcat Hot Wheels – even though they don’t actually say Hellcat anywhere on the car or packaging – they buy up every one in stock. This has made most of these cars nearly impossible to find in most areas, making them among the hardest Hot Wheels to find “on the pegs”.

I have been able to collect all three Hellcat Challengers (red, green, blue) and all three Hellcat Chargers (red, white, yellow), and I really like the look of these cars, but for someone who wants a more accurately detailed die cast cars, the Greenlight version is sure to be a much more accurate depiction of the real thing.

Other than the facts that the Greenlight Hellcat Charger actually wears the Hellcat name and it more accurately modeled after the 707 horsepower muscle sedan, the biggest difference between this piece and the Hot Wheels Hellcats is the price. Where most stores sell the Hot Wheels cars for anywhere from 88 cents to a dollar, Greenlight Collectables are typically in the range of $4.99 to 6.99. While some people will gripe about the bigger price tag, that larger price will turn off those folks who prefer spending less than a buck on a toy car – thus making Greenlight cars easier to find in their “regular” form.

Greenlight generally has limited production “Green Machine” versions of most of their cars, including the previous GL Muscle lineups, so I expect that the Hellcat Charger will also be offered as a “Greenie”. In some cases, Green Machine versions have a unique green body paint, while others have green wheels and a green chassis. In the event of the Hellcat Charger, I expect that the Green Machine will still be TorRed with a green chassis and green wheels – but they could keep the black wheels and opt for a totally dark metallic green body.

Finally, after the car above hits stores in September, I would expect to see more variations of the Hellcat Charger from Greenlight, as the company tends to offer multiple variations of every casting. It is believed that the production version of the toy car will not have the fog lights shown in the image above.

In other words, for those Hellcat toy collectors out there, a new, very attractive piece is about to hit stores with more detail than any previous Hellcat toy on the market.

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

Facebook   Twitter