Charger Daytona 392: A 157-MPH Ride With SRT’s Lead Dynamics Engineer
I don’t always experience a Charger Daytona 392 at near top speed, but when I do, I almost crap my pants.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles holds a yearly gathering called “What’s New.” It gives the media a peek at upcoming vehicles, along with modifications performed to current models. Sadly, the bulk of the information is under embargo until later this year, but I personally walked away with a tidbit of footage that’s too good to keep secret.
After a long morning of experiencing several vehicles at FCA’s Chelsea Proving Grounds, I sat down for a delicious lunch of Cuban pulled pork — and when in Michigan — a refreshing orange Faygo. Just as I stuffed my face with more spicy meat, I heard a thunderous sound breaking through the air waves. It was a Dodge Challenger thundering down the track at what looked and sounded like 200 mph.
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A few minutes later Erich Heuschele, SRT’s lead dynamics engineer joined me at the table. As it turns out, he was who I had just witnessed blast through the banking and rocket down the straight. What I originally thought was a Hellcat hitting 200 miles per hour turned out to be a Scat Pack stretching its muscles to 150.
“The sheer force of Heuschele slamming on the brakes at 157 mph ripped the phone out of my hands, and instantly created an equally exciting and hilarious video.”
Our conversation for the next 30 minutes could make a physics/engineering/racing nerd climax immediately. Heuschele isn’t just a vault full of high-performance vehicle development knowledge, he’s also a racing fan and self-proclaimed daredevil.
There was only one thing for me to do, and that was to request a similar high-speed run with me riding shotgun. That may not sound like a big deal, but the folks behind these highly structured events (for good reasons) typically frown upon activities outside of the regular program. Much to my surprise, the SRT master said yes.
We hopped into a Yellow Jacket 2018 Dodge Charger Daytona 392, which Heuschele claims has a top speed of 175. The rest is loud and blurry history.
Check out the video and see the shenanigans for yourself!